


OZ 2231

by alinewrites



Category: Oz (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, science-fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-23
Updated: 2012-04-23
Packaged: 2017-11-04 04:44:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 45,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/389882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alinewrites/pseuds/alinewrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>"At that stage of my life, I'd have done about anything just to fly away from home, from Gen, her silence, the shame I'd felt since the accident, the kids and my own sorry past."<i></i></i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

This story owes a lot to Eliza B.'s thorough and extraordinary beta. Without her, I wouldn't have done it, or if I had, it would have been really mediocre. Huge thanks to her! 

** Tobias Beecher **

When the Earth Mining Company, that owned most of the mines across the solar system, summoned me to New York, my life was a mess, and I had nothing better to do so I picked out my best suit, shaved, had my hair cut and flew there on a private shuttle that landed like a silver bird on the roof of the EMC building in the clear light of a summer afternoon. In front of me, I could see the city and a thin layer of smoke covering it like a soft blanket. I was welcomed by a staff manager who shook my hand energetically and guided me to the elevator down to the 66 th floor of the impressive building, the highest in the city, the man told me. I entered a cosy meeting room, sat down and listened to a bald fat man sitting in front of me across a huge mahogany desk, surrounded by nameless people he didn't even bother introducing me to. The place was luxurious. I noticed some original paintings, a thick carpet. From the middle of the room came the soothing murmur of a fountain. Huge screens displayed wonderful landscapes of different planets… Lost as I was, it took me several minutes to understand they were offering me a job. 

At that stage of my life, I'd have done about anything just to fly away from home, from Gen, her silence, the shame I'd felt since the accident, the kids and my own sorry past. Every time I laid my eyes on them, I could see the little girl's body lying on the road, covered with blood, her eyes wide open seeing nothing. Dead. I knew I'd never overcome that; I knew Gen would never trust me again, let alone love me, I knew my parents would never respect me again, and I'd resigned from my job because I didn't feel able to take it anymore. I'd stopped drinking, more or less. And I was more or less alive and free. I should have felt grateful to my family and my wife for taking care of everything, but I couldn't help the growing feeling that they had stolen my life. Not that I'd wanted to go to prison but the way every one acted, as if nothing at all had happened, made me sick. I woke up in the middle of the night after terrible nightmares, convinced I was damned. 

The EMC knew everything about me, of course. After all, Genevieve's parents held shares in the company, and John Devlin, the company's managing director was one of my father's oldest friends. All these people around the table seemed to consider that the job they were offering me was something like a gift. A favour or maybe a chance to redeem myself. And I agreed. It was a favour, but not quite in the way they thought it was. I listened to the same old story: the company had decided to dismantle an old profitless mining orbital station, and they needed a good lawyer to wrap the thing up nicely, avoiding troubles, riots and such with the miners. There was no need to tarnish further the company's public image. 

Space miners are a tough bunch of slugs, everybody on earth knows that. Some of them are hired straight from prison: "You've been sentenced to 10 years, pal? What about working for us instead?" They are happy to get rid of their prisoners so easily. That's probably why breaking the law doesn't bother them much, (Well, it didn't bother me that much, either, until the accident). But above all, they're deeply attached to their job; spending days on hostile planets in heat, freezing cold or sulphuric dusts is fairly close to heaven for them. And they can't stand to see their production tool scrapped, that I already knew. 

The company had gone through painful experiences in this field, and the miners had become aware of their own power. They were frightening, but their life and working conditions were so awful that people on Earth had come to blame the EMC for treating them like slaves. How many of them died every year –still died every year no matter what we did- in industrial accidents, after years of an exhausting job, far from anything that could be called civilisation? Three years ago, a riot on a mining station after such an accident had led to a real mess and 50 miners had been killed: the company wanted to avoid another unpleasant incident. I could understand them. I remembered the videos we'd been shown at the time, about the way those people worked, and the amazement I'd felt. I'd wanted to join the anti-EMC movement at the time, but of course, that was impossible. My parents and my wife's family would have disapproved. 

They showed me a three-dimensional animated map. The mining station was settled on a little planet 900 miles inside the Orion Belt. Fuck, that was really far, but I felt like I had no choice and I didn't want anything more than to fly away and be someone else, even for a short while. The agreement mentioned 8 weeks in the station and 8 more weeks for the trip, which meant 4 months away from my kids. But the salary was worth it. They told me the name of the place, a complicated sequence of numbers and letters, and someone in the staff explained that the miners working up there just called it "Oz". Everybody laughed. What I knew about the miners' very special sense of humour didn't amuse me and my employers seemed to notice. I was told that I'd never have to talk to one of those men, that I'd get protection 24 hours a day. 

It looked like a fair deal: I took it … when I told Gen about the job she didn't even try to hide how relieved she was. She probably hoped that some time apart would do us good. That seemed very optimistic to me. We had been through terrible moments lately, and the love we'd felt for each other in the first years of our marriage just seemed to fade away. But I still wanted to hope that we could salvage something of what had existed between us. When it was time to leave, my mother gave me her usual sanctimonious look and a quick kiss, my brother was nowhere to be found. I kissed my children, my father hugged me. Apart from the kids, he was the only one who didn't consider that showing me a little affection was pointless or disgusting. Gen kissed my cheek, and turned her head when I wanted to kiss her mouth so my lips landed awkwardly on her ear. Well, I didn't expect much more. She hadn't let me touch her since the accident, and I was not in the mood for an extramarital romance. And "Oz" didn't look like a place where I could have much fun. 

A week later, I boarded a private shuttle. The journey was boring. Spaceflights are boring. Sleep, drink, eat, read a book, or the files provided by the company, watch TV, work out in a little gym, watch through the window, talk to the staff… a whole sickening month and then… 

Arcturus4 was a small purple planet surrounded by heavy yellow clouds. No real atmosphere, no water, just rocks, and carbon monoxide and sulphur. Underneath the rocks, though, lay mines of titanium. The pilot informed me that the gravity was just 1/5 of earth gravity, and that the station was about 20 hours of flight from the planet. That the place was hell and nobody could stay down there for more than 10 days without suffering of bad injuries, he added. Because of this they had to settle the workers in an orbital station. When I saw that place they called Oz, I shivered. Dismantle it? Why? In my opinion, there was no need to do anything, time and rust would do it before long. It was the oldest and scariest thing I'd ever seen, and when I realized that I was to spend 6 weeks in this place, I felt like resigning right away. But it was not an option. It occurred to me that the men who worked there had spent several years inside, with a short break every 18 months to go get their kicks on some desolated world. Most of them, maybe all of them had never set foot on Earth at all. They were born on artificial stations, or recently settled planets. My world meant nothing to them. And far worse, I knew that most of them were members of the very powerful Miner's Galactic Trade Union, and that was not good. Since the riots, the MGTU was a force to be reckoned with and its power seemed to grow with every new incident, as did the number of their members. I guessed I'd have to compromise with them as well. 

Two hours after a perfect landing in an old hangar, I began unloading my stuff in a tiny room the Director, Leo Glynn, a powerful man who made me think of some stubborn bull, emphatically called "office". Oz looked like a penitentiary colony more than any place I'd seen before, all metallic walls, doors and floor, and I hated that. At least, Glynn told me with an encouraging smile, I wouldn't have to share the cell –he meant the room, I guess it was some kind of joke- with anybody else. And I wouldn't have to share anything with the workers on the station. He warned me, temporarily losing his smile that I had to forget everything I knew about space miners because those guys, here in Oz, they were worse. Really worse, he insisted, so he had to give me protection. I wouldn't leave my office alone, wouldn't talk to any of them, wouldn't share a single moment with any of them, which meant having the gym to myself an hour a day if I needed to. The safety measures annoyed me but I just nodded because what I'd been told about the miners had scared me shitless. 

I spent the first night sitting on my leather chair with a growing sense of loneliness. The room was small, and cosy wasn't the first word that would've popped in my mind about it. An overused carpet covered the floor between the locker and the desk. The metallic desk, the bare walls, and in the bedroom, smaller that the office, a spartan bed, and two awful pictures of a landscape I couldn't recognize…there was nothing there I liked. By chance, I had a private bathroom and that was a real luxury; I was to know that later. There was an octogonal window. I could see Arcturus4, the stars, and the darkness all around. Suddenly, I felt trapped. I closed my eyes, thinking of my house in the park, the huge trees and the swimming pool… Green and blue, colours of life and hope. All I could see here was grey, and black, with this purple and yellow sphere in front of me like a strange velvet ball… I shivered. When I went to bed, it was very late, but there was no day or night, and my body needed more time to adjust to this new world. I couldn't sleep. 

My first day on Oz was hell. The air was too poor, too refined, my lungs hurt, I was covered with sweat and my heart began beating wildly. The doctor of the station, a quiet old woman, told me that it was a very usual symptom. I had to rest for 12 hours, take some drugs she'd give me, and everything would be back to normal. The drugs left me nauseated and weak. I couldn't even stand up and I spent the next 12 hours sleeping. But the doctor was right: when I woke up I felt much better, and I could start work. I barely had time to send a message to Gen and the kids. 

From my first staff meeting it became obvious that no one on Oz was happy to see me. Glynn had been right about one thing: during the few hours I'd spent there, I hadn't met any miner. I was kept apart from them but I felt their wary eyes on me, and I knew they were talking behind my back. I'd expected that. What I had not expected was the staff's hostility. This old tin can lost so far from mother earth was these men's home. The company had hired them to work on Oz, as long as the mining station was in activity. Some of them had been there for 20 years. Dismantling Oz meant losing their job, and having to take something else somewhere else, maybe with fewer responsibilities not even knowing if they'd fit in. Glynn was the only one who looked enthusiastic at the prospect of flying away, because he'd been promised a better job, but that didn't imply he liked me. I was the rich prick from Earth and they had heard stories about me, probably. The man who was in charge of my security, Sean Murphy, barely spoke to me, and made it clear that he would have preferred to ship me back to earth as soon as possible. And the feeling was mutual. 

I didn't sleep much better on the second night, so I spent some hours trying to understand the way Oz was laid out: level-1, warehouses and shuttle hangars; level 0, something like an entertainment area: the huge greenhouse, the gym, the bar. Guess this was the only opportunity to see a tree or a flower around here. Level one, the rooms, two men in each of them, showers, cafeteria, and a library where movies were played every week. Level two, the offices and the staff's headquarters, the hospital, carefully isolated from the other aisles. I'd been given a room on the second floor. Safe. Noisy elevators, metallic stairs led from one level to another. Narrow metallic corridors lit up with a cold neon light, ran around and across the station. Of course, all that would be of no real use to me: I wasn't supposed to leave the second floor, except for my hour in the gym, and I didn't even use a public elevator. I was important enough to use the private one which looked as old and rusty as anything else here. From what I'd heard, a supply shuttle came each week, bringing foods and other supplies, taking back some of the workers for holidays on Mars5, where bars, hookers and gambling would keep them entertained and drunk for at least one whole month. 

I didn't know too much about the way things worked on Oz. I learned. I learned that Glynn himself had to compromise with the Miners' trade union, whose representative was the unsympathetic and cold-blooded Vern Schillinger. I met him during my second staff meeting, less than 3 days after my arrival. He faced Glynn, his arms folded against his chest, feet slightly parted, self-confident and vaguely threatening. He wasn't very tall; he was about 50, bald, a deceptively benign smile and eyes as cold as ice. He didn't say a word, he didn't have to. His mere presence was enough to create a palpable uneasiness. I didn't understand what the matter was. Probably something about the new safety measures inside the mines: a man had died before my arrival. He told Glynn that no one would go down as long as the problem wasn't solved, and I believed him. I believed he was charismatic enough to be a leader, and that no miner would dare to disobey. I was right. Glynn promised he'd do everything he could, and Vernon Schillinger left, but before that, he turned to me, and assessed me thoroughly. 

"Who's that?" he asked. 

Glynn smiled. "He was sent by the company to prepare the future investment on A4. New mines. New equipment." 

Schillinger didn't answer, but I was pretty sure that he didn't believe a single word. He smiled dangerously and brushed against me as leaving. I thought I heard him whisper "Nice ass" and saw him wink. 

When he was gone, I turned to Glynn. "When and how do you intend to tell him the truth?" I asked coldly. 

Glynn sighed and shrugged. "I'll wait as long as I can," he said in a low voice. "The man's dangerous, trust me on that." 

I did. I already hated Vernon Schillinger. I didn't think that waiting was a solution. But that was none of my business. 

On the fourth day, I was allowed to go to the gym for the first time, and around 8pm Murphy left me there, under the pretext he had some urgent work to do. After days of work and nights of bad sleep, working out felt like heaven. I'd needed that more than I'd needed anything since I'd been there. I was so anxious, and worried, and scared, although for no real reason, by the place and the people surrounding me (And not only of the miners) that I had to find a way to sweat it all away. When I was done, heart racing, hair damp, I just leaned against the wall, eyes closed, hands pressed on a wooden bar used for stretching, trying to catch my breath. As I recuperated, I became aware of something unusual. A presence. I turned my eyes to the door and saw a man watching me. I don't know how long he'd been there, silent. I'd been so caught up in hitting the punching ball, and fighting, that I hadn't noticed anything. 

From the first glance, I knew he wasn't part of the staff. Half naked, his shirt hanging loosely between his fingers as if he'd just taken it off, he just stood there motionless, dark blue eyes staring at me. He was tall, a bit taller than myself, and powerful. Muscular and lean body, chiselled muscles under a smooth skin, narrow hips, long legs, and on his left arm I saw a huge tattoo. Was that Christ? I wondered. That seemed strange. There was so little religious feeling left, now, and Christianity, in any of its form was not the most widespread. So many sects had appeared, praising so many strange gods… But the figure of Christ, so precisely and beautifully pictured, on a miner's arm, wasn't what I had expected. 

We watched each other for a few seconds and he smiled. 

"I don't know you," he said. 

"Neither do I," I answered. He laughed shortly. "My name is Christopher Keller. I work down there. In the mine." 

So I was right. "Tobias Beecher. I'm here from Earth." 

He looked surprised. "Earth? What are you here for? Business?" 

I sighed. "I really wish I knew." I didn't want to give anything away. "I was just... working out." Yeah, Beecher , like he couldn't see that. He nodded. He had an enigmatic smile, and very dark blue eyes. God. He was beautiful. I'd never seen anybody that beautiful before. 

"Guess it must be boring. Working out alone," he said dreamily. "Just like… I don't know. Jerking off?" 

I grinned. I'd been doing that, too, every night since I'd left earth. His smile didn't change. "Maybe I could help?" He saw my expression, I guess, and laughed, stepping in the room and walking towards me. 

"Help you work out, that is." He took one more step. "Well, the other thing too, if you'd like." His voice was low and soft and sensuous, and Christ, I just couldn't look away; I felt mesmerized and trapped. He was so near that I could nearly feel his breath on my face. I could feel the heat, smell his scent, and there was nothing I wanted more than to touch him. I was outstretching my arm to brush my fingers along his tattoo, and ask about it, when a voice startled me. 

"Mr Beecher?" I turned to the door. Sean Murphy, my guardian angel, was there, frowning. I saw Keller's look harden, as if he'd been interrupted in something very important, and for a second I thought that he would pounce on the man but he just stepped back. 

"Keller, you got nothing to do here. Get out." Murphy snarled angrily. Chris turned to him lazily. "Hey, we were just chatting." 

Murphy shook his head. "Chatting? Really? Go chat with someone else, Keller." 

Keller didn't answer. He tilted his head on the side and watched me with an ambiguous smile. "I'll see you later." 

Murphy cut him short. "No way. The orders are quite clear. No contact." 

The grin faded, something guarded darkened Keller's eyes. but the smile was back again quickly: " sorry. I didn't mean to bother your favourite. Just that I'm sure everybody here will find a bit strange that Glynn keeps this chick apart so carefully. What makes him so precious?" 

He didn't wait for Murphy's answer. He just swaggered out and disappeared in a corridor, his steps echoing behind him. 

"We'd better go." Murphy's voice was worried and I followed him without a word. 

Later, as I was showering I thought about him again. Closing my eyes, I leaned against the cold wall, tasting the water running down my face. Yeah, he was something new. I wanted to see him again. I needed to see him again. Jerking off was no fun, and the offer had been clear enough. I was no choir boy; I'd experienced sex with men several years ago, just before meeting Gen. Sex with men was something usual on Earth. Usual as long as it didn't last too long and didn't mean too much, that's what people used to think. I should have felt some kind of shame: I was openly planning to cheat on Gen. But I didn't. Actually, I hadn't really thought about her since I'd arrived. I had missed her and the kids during the flight, but not now. Everything seemed so unreal from here that I thought I could be losing my bearings, as if I'd entered a different dimension, where nothing of what I knew really applied. I had to find someone here I could rely on and the miner, Keller… Maybe it wasn't just about sexual attraction after all. Maybe I was looking for some kind of company? But I wasn't even fooling myself. I began to think how I could meet him again, and my hand slid on my cock, jerking it furiously as I lost myself in the memory of Chris Keller, his eyes, his smile, and the attractive body I *so* wanted to feel on mine. 

**Christopher Keller **

Working on Oz means a week down on A4 sweating in the mine 5 hours a day, never more because the air in the space suit is so thick you could die from breathing it too long, and the heat is just too much to stand, and the dust gets inside all our suits, even the latest ones. At the end of the day, there's a very long decontamination shower, then a meal in the pressurized quarters, and sleep. You don't even jerk off there, because you're too tired and -what's the point in lying- too scared. You don't even talk. You just want to fall asleep as fast as possible, and stop thinking. You know you can die any minute, anywhere in this hell hole, so you close your eyes, and try not to listen to the strange yellow wind that keeps blowing outside, and could sweep away the whole building. After a week like that, being back on Oz is like being back in heaven. You've made it one more week, you're alive, and you've got a wad of cash in your pocket. It's all good. And if you're lucky, you'll live long enough to spend 4 weeks on Venus2 every 6 months or go back to your own world and your family. That's how I've been living for the past 4 years. But on this particular day, the pleasure was spoiled when Schillinger's voice came out of the age-old radio of the shuttle. I knew why he was calling, so I just asked. 

"Fucker's up there?" 

I heard Vern cold voice. "He just arrived. But baby's in bed. Space sick." I laughed. "Poor chick. What d'you expect me to do?" 

He laughed. "C'mon, Chrissy." I hated him for a second. Nobody except him calls me Chrissy and lives. "You know your job. I want the files, all the files you can get. I want to know every single detail about the way the company wants to fuck us over." 

I shrugged, tired. "What does he look like?" 

Vern laughed. "Just a prick from earth. Nice butt, though. Easy job for you, Chris." Yeah, I thought, and why don't you do it yourself? But Vern Schillinger was an influential member of the trade union. He had got me that job, and I owed him for that. Yeah. And he fucked my ass, 20 years ago, when I was just a rookie working for the company, helped me survive, protected me, taught me useful things about the job, staid by my side when I was hurt in an accident. And if all it takes to clear debts is getting inside a computer to know how the company plans to fuck us over, that's fine by me. I can do that. 

I arrived on Oz quite late, had a long hot shower, and went to my room. Thanks to Schillinger, I don't share it with anyone, now. Y'know, I'm touchy and I can fight anyone for any reason. I'd done that already, and I guess many of the guys here knew that. I guess most of them didn't like me that much. The company hired me as I was doing time for a murder I hadn't even committed –I mean, the man died out of fear, that's not murder, right?- and they came there on Mars3 and offered me the job. Guess they didn't find a lot of assholes to do that. I said yes, of course. That's true, I had to kill other men. Men who got in my way, men who threatened me, who tried to kill me, hurt me, hurt my friends. Men who were far worse than I am. Those who know that, they leave me alone. The others learn fast. This is what I call respect. I'm alone, and proud to be. When I talk, which I don't do very often, they just shut up. And Schillinger shuts up too. Now, I have to meet the guy, and from what I'm told in the cafeteria, this won't be no piece of cake. It's not like I had a lot of time to spare! Two weeks and I'm back down in hell. So I have to move fast. 

Hours later, I was half asleep on my bed. Thinking of the past. That often happened to me at night when I had nothing better to do. Sometimes I wondered about Earth. My mother used to tell us stories about the old world. We were living on Mars3, where the sky's a dazzling red and wind's always blowing, but she was born in a big city on Earth. I think maybe Mexico , some place like that. She met a minor, and he took her away from earth. She never went back. My father died just months after I was born, her only son. She was only 18. She became a hooker to survive, and when she died, I was in prison. Wasted life. She probably deserved better. I remember an attractive young woman with dark eyes, dark hair and a smooth soft skin. She always said I looked like my father, and it's the only thing he gave me. My name, and a pair of blue eyes, and a body. I don't care much about the name, but the eyes and the body… Well, that's the best I've got, so I should be grateful, I guess. My mother used to tell me that I looked like him a lot. She never told me how he died, and now I wonder. I fell asleep early that night. I'd think about the guy later, I'd find a way to meet him later. I was too tired to think about that now. 

**Tobias Beecher**

"Money's the key." The staff on earth had kept telling me that, and they'd seemed self-confident enough to convince me. " a golden handshake will do. They'll leave the station without a murmur." 

I was thinking about that, watching the men who gathered in the main hall, silent, their looks anxiously riveted to the screens where the level of production was displayed, like every evening. They began yelling when the figures appeared, hugging each other as it became obvious that all the previous productivity records had been smashed. I saw Vernon Schillinger stand up, raising a clenched fist toward the metallic ceiling and I heard him say: "Oz brings more money to the company than any other mine!" and the men shouted out their approval. Next to me, Glynn's right-hand man, Tim McManus, was watching the scene, a worried expression on his face. 

"Are they right? Is Arcturus4 as profitable as Schillinger pretends it is?" he asked me, frowning. 

"No." I sighed, shook my head. "No, it's not. Well, it is profitable at the moment, but as soon as the new safety standards are implemented, it'll be over, because bringing this…" I pointed at the walls of our obsolete tin can, "into compliance with those standards will cost too much money. I'd say about 50 times the annual operating budget. The place's too old, the mine's too dangerous, Arcturus is too far. I read the reports over and over today. Those men are working every day at the risk of their own life. This structure's one of the most dangerous mines still running. It will be more profitable and much safer to dismantle Oz and abandon Arcturus4, start it all over again with a new mine on some easier planet." 

"I see what you mean," McManus pointed to the miners below. "But that will be real shit to explain to them. They feel like they own the place. And they do, in a way. Much more than me or anybody in the EMC." 

I knew that, and as I watched those men crying out their faith in the future of Oz, I felt a shiver run down my spine. I was about to leave when I saw Keller, sitting aside from the others, his arms crossed on his chest, his legs stretched in front of him, watching the crowd with the same enigmatic smile I'd already noticed. At the same moment, he looked upwards and his eyes caught mine for a second… I was thinking about going down the stairs and talking to him when I saw him rise, stretch lazily, then cross the room to leave without a word, leaving me disappointed and frustrated. I hadn't seen him again since our first meeting in the gym two days ago and I didn't know how I could ever talk to him again. I sighed and went back to the staff quarters. McManus had offered to go to the gym with me and I'd agreed. That way I could get rid of Murphy, whose look reminded me of my mother's last glance, and McManus' company was better than none. I began to think that loneliness could be the worst thing I'd have to endure during my stay on Oz and making friends had never been my strong point. McManus didn't seem to have many friends either so we found a mutual advantage in each other's company. Later that evening, I found a pretext to skip the dinner with the other members of the staff. I wanted to be alone and think about the situation: maybe the reasons why the EMC wanted to close Oz weren't that simple, after all. Sitting in my office, I wondered whether the company wasn't trying to get rid of the MGTU as well as of a profitless mine. Closing the old mines where most of the Trade Union members worked, opening new ones and asking the new miners to sign out of the Trade Union if they wanted to be hired there could be a good way to stop the increasing influence of the MGTU. If that was the case, I hoped that nobody would find out before I'd left, because I was sure that the unsympathetic Vernon Schillinger wasn't so easily fooled. And if I was right, I didn't dare imagine what his reaction would be. 

**Christopher Keller**

It's easy to know when somebody's attracted to you. I've always been familiar with that, and that night, the guy from Earth, Beecher , seemed pretty happy to see me. He watched me for a long time with hungry eyes, I could feel it without looking up and when I caught his look, he didn't avoid it. That was enough. I managed to leave quickly. On my way back to my room, I kept thinking that I didn't like the way things were going. Schillinger upset me. I knew what he was doing, but honestly I didn't think his plan stood a chance, and I believed that we'd get fucked in the end, as usual. Because we were miners, just that, and we had no instruction, no power, no knowledge of how things worked outside; well maybe Vern knew about that, but the others, they were just the usual kind of slugs and when the time would come to fight, I didn't know how many of them would get mixed up in it. I'd watch them as they hugged in joy. I'm not the hugging type, and I don't feel really proud about my work. I didn't choose it; I'm not fond of it. I'd been named the best miner of the station twice during the previous year: that had been enough, I didn't like the pressure the staff tried to put on us, so I just slowed down the pace and let people forget about me. But I didn't want to leave Oz because I'd been there for 17 years and I didn't know how I would adjust somewhere else. I was thinking about that as I opened the locked door of a private stairway with a stolen key, closing it behind me, and stepping up to the second floor. The place was empty and Beecher 's door was open. I had thought he'd be in the staff dining room with the McManus and the others and that would have made things much easier: unlock the door to his room, open the computer files, find out Beecher 's password and take a look inside. Stealing the files for Vern was an easy thing, and I would've been gone before Beecher 's return. No use working my charms on him, then. 

But there he was, sitting at his desk, his elbows on his knees, watching the floor, frowning. 

"Hey," I said playfully. He started, turned his head, smiled. 

"Hey! How did you get there?" he asked. That didn't seem to bother him much, though. 

"You know… I had a key. Useful thing." He pushed his hair back and I noticed the way his eyes seemed to shine under the cold light. I watched as his tongue wetted his lips reflexively: I'd seen him do that in the gym two days ago. 

"Come in and close the door. I'm not supposed to socialize with anyone round here. This place's worse than a prison. I'd like to know why they keep me apart from anyone here." 

I walked in, took a look around. The room was not very different from mine. Larger. But it was the same kind of functional place, all grey and metallic and ugly. There was a window, though." Nice view, nice place. Cosy and all…" I crossed the room, entered a bedroom. A separate bedroom, with a real door you could close. Good for me. "Your bed's bigger than mine." I opened a door, whistled. "Private shower… Lucky guy!" 

I turned back to him. He watched me, a bit stunned, I guess. 

"What do you want?" he asked. He wore black pants and a black shirt, all buttoned up, hair a bit messy. If I'd not seen him in the gym, I'd still have believed he was the perfect pansy ass lawyer Vern had told me about. But the guy was strong and he could fight. I'd seen that. I knew that kind of men, all peaceful and calm most of the time, who tended to get crazy sometimes. Unpredictable men. Dangerous men. Some of the miners on Oz were like that, too. They worked there peacefully for months, maybe years, and one day ran amok and slaughtered anyone who crossed their way. I didn't know why, but I thought Beecher could be one of those crazy fucks. Then I realized he'd asked a question and was obviously waiting for an answer. Get a grip, Keller, I told myself. 

"In the gym the other day? Nothing personal." 

He snorted, frowned. "Oh yeah? It seemed personal enough to me." He answered, his eyes not leaving me. I came back to the desk, sat on a corner. "Nah. See, we ain't got a lot of fun here. Working out is part of it. A big part. But last month, Glynn decided we couldn't go to the gym more than four times a week. I used to work out everyday, sometimes twice a day. He didn't say why. Just a problem with the company's fucking safety standards. I mean, some fights happened there, but nothing too bad. Nobody died." I noticed a picture on the desk in a nice wooden frame. A woman and 2 kids. The woman held a baby in her arms. That made three. Ok. So Beecher was the "married with kids" kind. 

"So when Murphy told me that *you* could have it for yourself, I didn't like it. But it wasn't against you. Just against them." 

He watched me. He'd got that strange expression, thoughtful, serious, like he was trying to decide if he'd give me a second chance. Then he nodded and asked: 

"Is that a kind of apology?" Take it however you want. "That your wife?" I asked, pointing to the photo. "Nice chick." 

Beecher didn't seem as enthusiastic as I expected and just nodded. "Are you married?" he asked. 

"I've been. It never worked. I tried it 4 times." 

He looked genuinely stunned. "4 times?" he asked, giving me an incredulous look. 

"Yeah. But I married one of the girls twice." 

I liked the way he snorted. He looked younger and naïve. I love naïve and overeducated guys. They're easy. 

"I bet she came back begging for more?" Aw, and I had him right where I wanted. 

"Actually, I begged her to take me back," I answered. Well, that was true, all things considered. His eyes roamed over me, on my mouth, on my body… 

"Well, she was one lucky woman." He whispered. I couldn't believe it. I caught his eyes, expecting irony, but there was none. I just saw… I don't know what it was. Lust, probably, but underneath there was something else. I had no time to spend on that, so I just went on to see if that would work. 

"How's your bed?" I asked. He gave me a wary look. "Why?" 

I shrugged. "Well, I think we could give it a try, don't you?" 

That look again. God, he seemed so serious I almost felt sorry for him. Then he nodded again like he had the first time. "Yes. We could." 

I'd told Vern it would be easy. All I had to do now was fuck the guy into sleep and do my job. And maybe leave Oz just after that. Let things go on without me. I followed him in the bedroom and began to strip, purposely slow. He'd won the right to take a good look before the final assault. 

He was shy. Well, maybe not shy, actually, but strangely reserved and silent. Not the kind who talks and begs and yells. But his eyes, fuck, his eyes did that all. Talk, and beg, and yell. I kissed him sweet because I thought he could freak out but the way he shoved me against the wall… I nearly broke my skull. 

"You've been thinking about me, Beecher?" I asked in his ear, breaking the kiss to catch my breath. 

"Yes." And he kissed me again. I pushed him on the bed. Time to make things right, Beecher. See what you're worth. I undressed him hastily. His skin was soft and pale, his body muscled and strong, slender and flexible. I'd seen that in the gym two days ago, I'd noticed the soft curves of his shoulders, his arms, his square hands, and his long neck, the way it bowed and strained every time he hit the punching ball. I'd seen his perfectly muscled back and his slim waist… I wanted to see it again. I wanted those hands to clutch to me, this head to tilt backwards in pleasure. I kissed his neck, licked his shoulder blade, bit his ear, and heard him hiss softly. I laughed into his neck. He smelled good. He didn't smell like the guys on Oz, or like the girls on Mars5 or anyone I'd known. I thought I'd smelled something like that before, but I didn't remember where. " Beecher … Tobias… I'll call you Toby, OK?" I kissed him again "Yeah, I like that. Toby." I loved the sound of the name, I could roll it in my mouth like candy, make it sound needy or sweet. "Toby…" I said again, and heard him moan softly as I took his whole cock in my mouth. 

Later, as he was straddling me, my dick deep in his ass, so tight, so hot around me, his arms around my shoulders, his face in my neck, his ragged breath against my skin, I grabbed his hair and pulled his head back. I didn't want to move yet. I wanted him to get used to the feeling, I wanted to make him wait a bit more. Just a bit more and then… 

"Look at me, Toby. Look at me. I wanna see your eyes." He opened his eyes slowly, rested an unfocused gaze on me and I shivered. I'd never have a chance to see what people on Earth call the sky. Their sky, so blue in the movies I'd watched. So blue, so clear, so light above their head. And I would never see it now; it was too late for me. But that first night when I lost myself in Beecher 's eyes, that was it. I saw it. It was the same feeling, a feeling of freedom, the feeling you're watching through a pale crystal. 

"Move," I whispered, half crazy with need. "Move on me." He opened his mouth, wetted his lips again with the tip of his tongue and began to move, his head thrown back. It was awkward first, but I let him set the pace and then, I began to move too, more and more forcefully, my fingers dipping in his skin, bruising it as I brought him back on me to get deeper and deeper inside him… He'd closed his eyes. "Look at me!" I said, and he did, but after a while, he shook his head and closed his eyes again. Yeah, I thought, pushing him on his back in the middle of the bed to fuck him more easily and take control, yeah, his eyes were like the sky of earth, they were like the water of the pools in the greenhouse, so translucent, and I don't know why but this mere thought pushed me straight over the edge, and I shoved my dick hard inside him and then… then… Oh god, just thinking of it makes me hard, so many years later, the soft moan I heard, the noises in his throat, the way his body shook suddenly when I stroke his dick, once, twice and we came together, as the whole station seemed to shatter around us and we fell through infinite darkness, holding each other tight. That's when I fucked up, I guess. Because I'd never known that kind of pleasure before. Not like that. I'd never fucked a man whose eyes sheltered a whole sky, and whatever happened later, whatever I learned about him, however crazy he got, I never forgot that moment. 

When I woke up Toby was holding me tight. I couldn't move without waking him up and I didn't want to wake him up. It was dawn, anyway, through the window in front of me I could see the clouds around Arcturus change from a dark red into a deep gold. I knew I couldn't finish the job that day. I sighed. Ok, I'd do it later. I'd have to fuck him again… I closed my eyes and relaxed in his arms as he moved against me, counted to ten. 

" Beecher ? I've gotta go." I shook him softly, watched him stretch, open his eyes. He watched me for a whole minute. His eyes rested on my mouth just long enough to let me know what he was thinking about. Then he nodded. 

"I'll be back tonight." 

"You'd better be." 

I was about to leave when he called me back. "Hey!" I turned to watch him. "Next time I think we should try the shower." 

Aw. Working for Schillinger was such a thrill! I laughed. "Whatever you want, Beecher ." 

Then I closed the door softly and left before anybody knew I'd been there. 


	2. Chapter 2

This story owes a lot to Eliza B.'s thorough and extraordinary beta. Without her, I wouldn't have done it, or if I had, it would have been really mediocre. Huge thanks to her! 

** Tobias Beecher **

When the Earth Mining Company, that owned most of the mines across the solar system, summoned me to New York, my life was a mess, and I had nothing better to do so I picked out my best suit, shaved, had my hair cut and flew there on a private shuttle that landed like a silver bird on the roof of the EMC building in the clear light of a summer afternoon. In front of me, I could see the city and a thin layer of smoke covering it like a soft blanket. I was welcomed by a staff manager who shook my hand energetically and guided me to the elevator down to the 66 th floor of the impressive building, the highest in the city, the man told me. I entered a cosy meeting room, sat down and listened to a bald fat man sitting in front of me across a huge mahogany desk, surrounded by nameless people he didn't even bother introducing me to. The place was luxurious. I noticed some original paintings, a thick carpet. From the middle of the room came the soothing murmur of a fountain. Huge screens displayed wonderful landscapes of different planets… Lost as I was, it took me several minutes to understand they were offering me a job. 

At that stage of my life, I'd have done about anything just to fly away from home, from Gen, her silence, the shame I'd felt since the accident, the kids and my own sorry past. Every time I laid my eyes on them, I could see the little girl's body lying on the road, covered with blood, her eyes wide open seeing nothing. Dead. I knew I'd never overcome that; I knew Gen would never trust me again, let alone love me, I knew my parents would never respect me again, and I'd resigned from my job because I didn't feel able to take it anymore. I'd stopped drinking, more or less. And I was more or less alive and free. I should have felt grateful to my family and my wife for taking care of everything, but I couldn't help the growing feeling that they had stolen my life. Not that I'd wanted to go to prison but the way every one acted, as if nothing at all had happened, made me sick. I woke up in the middle of the night after terrible nightmares, convinced I was damned. 

The EMC knew everything about me, of course. After all, Genevieve's parents held shares in the company, and John Devlin, the company's managing director was one of my father's oldest friends. All these people around the table seemed to consider that the job they were offering me was something like a gift. A favour or maybe a chance to redeem myself. And I agreed. It was a favour, but not quite in the way they thought it was. I listened to the same old story: the company had decided to dismantle an old profitless mining orbital station, and they needed a good lawyer to wrap the thing up nicely, avoiding troubles, riots and such with the miners. There was no need to tarnish further the company's public image. 

Space miners are a tough bunch of slugs, everybody on earth knows that. Some of them are hired straight from prison: "You've been sentenced to 10 years, pal? What about working for us instead?" They are happy to get rid of their prisoners so easily. That's probably why breaking the law doesn't bother them much, (Well, it didn't bother me that much, either, until the accident). But above all, they're deeply attached to their job; spending days on hostile planets in heat, freezing cold or sulphuric dusts is fairly close to heaven for them. And they can't stand to see their production tool scrapped, that I already knew. 

The company had gone through painful experiences in this field, and the miners had become aware of their own power. They were frightening, but their life and working conditions were so awful that people on Earth had come to blame the EMC for treating them like slaves. How many of them died every year –still died every year no matter what we did- in industrial accidents, after years of an exhausting job, far from anything that could be called civilisation? Three years ago, a riot on a mining station after such an accident had led to a real mess and 50 miners had been killed: the company wanted to avoid another unpleasant incident. I could understand them. I remembered the videos we'd been shown at the time, about the way those people worked, and the amazement I'd felt. I'd wanted to join the anti-EMC movement at the time, but of course, that was impossible. My parents and my wife's family would have disapproved. 

They showed me a three-dimensional animated map. The mining station was settled on a little planet 900 miles inside the Orion Belt. Fuck, that was really far, but I felt like I had no choice and I didn't want anything more than to fly away and be someone else, even for a short while. The agreement mentioned 8 weeks in the station and 8 more weeks for the trip, which meant 4 months away from my kids. But the salary was worth it. They told me the name of the place, a complicated sequence of numbers and letters, and someone in the staff explained that the miners working up there just called it "Oz". Everybody laughed. What I knew about the miners' very special sense of humour didn't amuse me and my employers seemed to notice. I was told that I'd never have to talk to one of those men, that I'd get protection 24 hours a day. 

It looked like a fair deal: I took it … when I told Gen about the job she didn't even try to hide how relieved she was. She probably hoped that some time apart would do us good. That seemed very optimistic to me. We had been through terrible moments lately, and the love we'd felt for each other in the first years of our marriage just seemed to fade away. But I still wanted to hope that we could salvage something of what had existed between us. When it was time to leave, my mother gave me her usual sanctimonious look and a quick kiss, my brother was nowhere to be found. I kissed my children, my father hugged me. Apart from the kids, he was the only one who didn't consider that showing me a little affection was pointless or disgusting. Gen kissed my cheek, and turned her head when I wanted to kiss her mouth so my lips landed awkwardly on her ear. Well, I didn't expect much more. She hadn't let me touch her since the accident, and I was not in the mood for an extramarital romance. And "Oz" didn't look like a place where I could have much fun. 

A week later, I boarded a private shuttle. The journey was boring. Spaceflights are boring. Sleep, drink, eat, read a book, or the files provided by the company, watch TV, work out in a little gym, watch through the window, talk to the staff… a whole sickening month and then… 

Arcturus4 was a small purple planet surrounded by heavy yellow clouds. No real atmosphere, no water, just rocks, and carbon monoxide and sulphur. Underneath the rocks, though, lay mines of titanium. The pilot informed me that the gravity was just 1/5 of earth gravity, and that the station was about 20 hours of flight from the planet. That the place was hell and nobody could stay down there for more than 10 days without suffering of bad injuries, he added. Because of this they had to settle the workers in an orbital station. When I saw that place they called Oz, I shivered. Dismantle it? Why? In my opinion, there was no need to do anything, time and rust would do it before long. It was the oldest and scariest thing I'd ever seen, and when I realized that I was to spend 6 weeks in this place, I felt like resigning right away. But it was not an option. It occurred to me that the men who worked there had spent several years inside, with a short break every 18 months to go get their kicks on some desolated world. Most of them, maybe all of them had never set foot on Earth at all. They were born on artificial stations, or recently settled planets. My world meant nothing to them. And far worse, I knew that most of them were members of the very powerful Miner's Galactic Trade Union, and that was not good. Since the riots, the MGTU was a force to be reckoned with and its power seemed to grow with every new incident, as did the number of their members. I guessed I'd have to compromise with them as well. 

Two hours after a perfect landing in an old hangar, I began unloading my stuff in a tiny room the Director, Leo Glynn, a powerful man who made me think of some stubborn bull, emphatically called "office". Oz looked like a penitentiary colony more than any place I'd seen before, all metallic walls, doors and floor, and I hated that. At least, Glynn told me with an encouraging smile, I wouldn't have to share the cell –he meant the room, I guess it was some kind of joke- with anybody else. And I wouldn't have to share anything with the workers on the station. He warned me, temporarily losing his smile that I had to forget everything I knew about space miners because those guys, here in Oz, they were worse. Really worse, he insisted, so he had to give me protection. I wouldn't leave my office alone, wouldn't talk to any of them, wouldn't share a single moment with any of them, which meant having the gym to myself an hour a day if I needed to. The safety measures annoyed me but I just nodded because what I'd been told about the miners had scared me shitless. 

I spent the first night sitting on my leather chair with a growing sense of loneliness. The room was small, and cosy wasn't the first word that would've popped in my mind about it. An overused carpet covered the floor between the locker and the desk. The metallic desk, the bare walls, and in the bedroom, smaller that the office, a spartan bed, and two awful pictures of a landscape I couldn't recognize…there was nothing there I liked. By chance, I had a private bathroom and that was a real luxury; I was to know that later. There was an octogonal window. I could see Arcturus4, the stars, and the darkness all around. Suddenly, I felt trapped. I closed my eyes, thinking of my house in the park, the huge trees and the swimming pool… Green and blue, colours of life and hope. All I could see here was grey, and black, with this purple and yellow sphere in front of me like a strange velvet ball… I shivered. When I went to bed, it was very late, but there was no day or night, and my body needed more time to adjust to this new world. I couldn't sleep. 

My first day on Oz was hell. The air was too poor, too refined, my lungs hurt, I was covered with sweat and my heart began beating wildly. The doctor of the station, a quiet old woman, told me that it was a very usual symptom. I had to rest for 12 hours, take some drugs she'd give me, and everything would be back to normal. The drugs left me nauseated and weak. I couldn't even stand up and I spent the next 12 hours sleeping. But the doctor was right: when I woke up I felt much better, and I could start work. I barely had time to send a message to Gen and the kids. 

From my first staff meeting it became obvious that no one on Oz was happy to see me. Glynn had been right about one thing: during the few hours I'd spent there, I hadn't met any miner. I was kept apart from them but I felt their wary eyes on me, and I knew they were talking behind my back. I'd expected that. What I had not expected was the staff's hostility. This old tin can lost so far from mother earth was these men's home. The company had hired them to work on Oz, as long as the mining station was in activity. Some of them had been there for 20 years. Dismantling Oz meant losing their job, and having to take something else somewhere else, maybe with fewer responsibilities not even knowing if they'd fit in. Glynn was the only one who looked enthusiastic at the prospect of flying away, because he'd been promised a better job, but that didn't imply he liked me. I was the rich prick from Earth and they had heard stories about me, probably. The man who was in charge of my security, Sean Murphy, barely spoke to me, and made it clear that he would have preferred to ship me back to earth as soon as possible. And the feeling was mutual. 

I didn't sleep much better on the second night, so I spent some hours trying to understand the way Oz was laid out: level-1, warehouses and shuttle hangars; level 0, something like an entertainment area: the huge greenhouse, the gym, the bar. Guess this was the only opportunity to see a tree or a flower around here. Level one, the rooms, two men in each of them, showers, cafeteria, and a library where movies were played every week. Level two, the offices and the staff's headquarters, the hospital, carefully isolated from the other aisles. I'd been given a room on the second floor. Safe. Noisy elevators, metallic stairs led from one level to another. Narrow metallic corridors lit up with a cold neon light, ran around and across the station. Of course, all that would be of no real use to me: I wasn't supposed to leave the second floor, except for my hour in the gym, and I didn't even use a public elevator. I was important enough to use the private one which looked as old and rusty as anything else here. From what I'd heard, a supply shuttle came each week, bringing foods and other supplies, taking back some of the workers for holidays on Mars5, where bars, hookers and gambling would keep them entertained and drunk for at least one whole month. 

I didn't know too much about the way things worked on Oz. I learned. I learned that Glynn himself had to compromise with the Miners' trade union, whose representative was the unsympathetic and cold-blooded Vern Schillinger. I met him during my second staff meeting, less than 3 days after my arrival. He faced Glynn, his arms folded against his chest, feet slightly parted, self-confident and vaguely threatening. He wasn't very tall; he was about 50, bald, a deceptively benign smile and eyes as cold as ice. He didn't say a word, he didn't have to. His mere presence was enough to create a palpable uneasiness. I didn't understand what the matter was. Probably something about the new safety measures inside the mines: a man had died before my arrival. He told Glynn that no one would go down as long as the problem wasn't solved, and I believed him. I believed he was charismatic enough to be a leader, and that no miner would dare to disobey. I was right. Glynn promised he'd do everything he could, and Vernon Schillinger left, but before that, he turned to me, and assessed me thoroughly. 

"Who's that?" he asked. 

Glynn smiled. "He was sent by the company to prepare the future investment on A4. New mines. New equipment." 

Schillinger didn't answer, but I was pretty sure that he didn't believe a single word. He smiled dangerously and brushed against me as leaving. I thought I heard him whisper "Nice ass" and saw him wink. 

When he was gone, I turned to Glynn. "When and how do you intend to tell him the truth?" I asked coldly. 

Glynn sighed and shrugged. "I'll wait as long as I can," he said in a low voice. "The man's dangerous, trust me on that." 

I did. I already hated Vernon Schillinger. I didn't think that waiting was a solution. But that was none of my business. 

On the fourth day, I was allowed to go to the gym for the first time, and around 8pm Murphy left me there, under the pretext he had some urgent work to do. After days of work and nights of bad sleep, working out felt like heaven. I'd needed that more than I'd needed anything since I'd been there. I was so anxious, and worried, and scared, although for no real reason, by the place and the people surrounding me (And not only of the miners) that I had to find a way to sweat it all away. When I was done, heart racing, hair damp, I just leaned against the wall, eyes closed, hands pressed on a wooden bar used for stretching, trying to catch my breath. As I recuperated, I became aware of something unusual. A presence. I turned my eyes to the door and saw a man watching me. I don't know how long he'd been there, silent. I'd been so caught up in hitting the punching ball, and fighting, that I hadn't noticed anything. 

From the first glance, I knew he wasn't part of the staff. Half naked, his shirt hanging loosely between his fingers as if he'd just taken it off, he just stood there motionless, dark blue eyes staring at me. He was tall, a bit taller than myself, and powerful. Muscular and lean body, chiselled muscles under a smooth skin, narrow hips, long legs, and on his left arm I saw a huge tattoo. Was that Christ? I wondered. That seemed strange. There was so little religious feeling left, now, and Christianity, in any of its form was not the most widespread. So many sects had appeared, praising so many strange gods… But the figure of Christ, so precisely and beautifully pictured, on a miner's arm, wasn't what I had expected. 

We watched each other for a few seconds and he smiled. 

"I don't know you," he said. 

"Neither do I," I answered. He laughed shortly. "My name is Christopher Keller. I work down there. In the mine." 

So I was right. "Tobias Beecher. I'm here from Earth." 

He looked surprised. "Earth? What are you here for? Business?" 

I sighed. "I really wish I knew." I didn't want to give anything away. "I was just... working out." Yeah, Beecher , like he couldn't see that. He nodded. He had an enigmatic smile, and very dark blue eyes. God. He was beautiful. I'd never seen anybody that beautiful before. 

"Guess it must be boring. Working out alone," he said dreamily. "Just like… I don't know. Jerking off?" 

I grinned. I'd been doing that, too, every night since I'd left earth. His smile didn't change. "Maybe I could help?" He saw my expression, I guess, and laughed, stepping in the room and walking towards me. 

"Help you work out, that is." He took one more step. "Well, the other thing too, if you'd like." His voice was low and soft and sensuous, and Christ, I just couldn't look away; I felt mesmerized and trapped. He was so near that I could nearly feel his breath on my face. I could feel the heat, smell his scent, and there was nothing I wanted more than to touch him. I was outstretching my arm to brush my fingers along his tattoo, and ask about it, when a voice startled me. 

"Mr Beecher?" I turned to the door. Sean Murphy, my guardian angel, was there, frowning. I saw Keller's look harden, as if he'd been interrupted in something very important, and for a second I thought that he would pounce on the man but he just stepped back. 

"Keller, you got nothing to do here. Get out." Murphy snarled angrily. Chris turned to him lazily. "Hey, we were just chatting." 

Murphy shook his head. "Chatting? Really? Go chat with someone else, Keller." 

Keller didn't answer. He tilted his head on the side and watched me with an ambiguous smile. "I'll see you later." 

Murphy cut him short. "No way. The orders are quite clear. No contact." 

The grin faded, something guarded darkened Keller's eyes. but the smile was back again quickly: " sorry. I didn't mean to bother your favourite. Just that I'm sure everybody here will find a bit strange that Glynn keeps this chick apart so carefully. What makes him so precious?" 

He didn't wait for Murphy's answer. He just swaggered out and disappeared in a corridor, his steps echoing behind him. 

"We'd better go." Murphy's voice was worried and I followed him without a word. 

Later, as I was showering I thought about him again. Closing my eyes, I leaned against the cold wall, tasting the water running down my face. Yeah, he was something new. I wanted to see him again. I needed to see him again. Jerking off was no fun, and the offer had been clear enough. I was no choir boy; I'd experienced sex with men several years ago, just before meeting Gen. Sex with men was something usual on Earth. Usual as long as it didn't last too long and didn't mean too much, that's what people used to think. I should have felt some kind of shame: I was openly planning to cheat on Gen. But I didn't. Actually, I hadn't really thought about her since I'd arrived. I had missed her and the kids during the flight, but not now. Everything seemed so unreal from here that I thought I could be losing my bearings, as if I'd entered a different dimension, where nothing of what I knew really applied. I had to find someone here I could rely on and the miner, Keller… Maybe it wasn't just about sexual attraction after all. Maybe I was looking for some kind of company? But I wasn't even fooling myself. I began to think how I could meet him again, and my hand slid on my cock, jerking it furiously as I lost myself in the memory of Chris Keller, his eyes, his smile, and the attractive body I *so* wanted to feel on mine. 

**Christopher Keller **

Working on Oz means a week down on A4 sweating in the mine 5 hours a day, never more because the air in the space suit is so thick you could die from breathing it too long, and the heat is just too much to stand, and the dust gets inside all our suits, even the latest ones. At the end of the day, there's a very long decontamination shower, then a meal in the pressurized quarters, and sleep. You don't even jerk off there, because you're too tired and -what's the point in lying- too scared. You don't even talk. You just want to fall asleep as fast as possible, and stop thinking. You know you can die any minute, anywhere in this hell hole, so you close your eyes, and try not to listen to the strange yellow wind that keeps blowing outside, and could sweep away the whole building. After a week like that, being back on Oz is like being back in heaven. You've made it one more week, you're alive, and you've got a wad of cash in your pocket. It's all good. And if you're lucky, you'll live long enough to spend 4 weeks on Venus2 every 6 months or go back to your own world and your family. That's how I've been living for the past 4 years. But on this particular day, the pleasure was spoiled when Schillinger's voice came out of the age-old radio of the shuttle. I knew why he was calling, so I just asked. 

"Fucker's up there?" 

I heard Vern cold voice. "He just arrived. But baby's in bed. Space sick." I laughed. "Poor chick. What d'you expect me to do?" 

He laughed. "C'mon, Chrissy." I hated him for a second. Nobody except him calls me Chrissy and lives. "You know your job. I want the files, all the files you can get. I want to know every single detail about the way the company wants to fuck us over." 

I shrugged, tired. "What does he look like?" 

Vern laughed. "Just a prick from earth. Nice butt, though. Easy job for you, Chris." Yeah, I thought, and why don't you do it yourself? But Vern Schillinger was an influential member of the trade union. He had got me that job, and I owed him for that. Yeah. And he fucked my ass, 20 years ago, when I was just a rookie working for the company, helped me survive, protected me, taught me useful things about the job, staid by my side when I was hurt in an accident. And if all it takes to clear debts is getting inside a computer to know how the company plans to fuck us over, that's fine by me. I can do that. 

I arrived on Oz quite late, had a long hot shower, and went to my room. Thanks to Schillinger, I don't share it with anyone, now. Y'know, I'm touchy and I can fight anyone for any reason. I'd done that already, and I guess many of the guys here knew that. I guess most of them didn't like me that much. The company hired me as I was doing time for a murder I hadn't even committed –I mean, the man died out of fear, that's not murder, right?- and they came there on Mars3 and offered me the job. Guess they didn't find a lot of assholes to do that. I said yes, of course. That's true, I had to kill other men. Men who got in my way, men who threatened me, who tried to kill me, hurt me, hurt my friends. Men who were far worse than I am. Those who know that, they leave me alone. The others learn fast. This is what I call respect. I'm alone, and proud to be. When I talk, which I don't do very often, they just shut up. And Schillinger shuts up too. Now, I have to meet the guy, and from what I'm told in the cafeteria, this won't be no piece of cake. It's not like I had a lot of time to spare! Two weeks and I'm back down in hell. So I have to move fast. 

Hours later, I was half asleep on my bed. Thinking of the past. That often happened to me at night when I had nothing better to do. Sometimes I wondered about Earth. My mother used to tell us stories about the old world. We were living on Mars3, where the sky's a dazzling red and wind's always blowing, but she was born in a big city on Earth. I think maybe Mexico , some place like that. She met a minor, and he took her away from earth. She never went back. My father died just months after I was born, her only son. She was only 18. She became a hooker to survive, and when she died, I was in prison. Wasted life. She probably deserved better. I remember an attractive young woman with dark eyes, dark hair and a smooth soft skin. She always said I looked like my father, and it's the only thing he gave me. My name, and a pair of blue eyes, and a body. I don't care much about the name, but the eyes and the body… Well, that's the best I've got, so I should be grateful, I guess. My mother used to tell me that I looked like him a lot. She never told me how he died, and now I wonder. I fell asleep early that night. I'd think about the guy later, I'd find a way to meet him later. I was too tired to think about that now. 

**Tobias Beecher**

"Money's the key." The staff on earth had kept telling me that, and they'd seemed self-confident enough to convince me. " a golden handshake will do. They'll leave the station without a murmur." 

I was thinking about that, watching the men who gathered in the main hall, silent, their looks anxiously riveted to the screens where the level of production was displayed, like every evening. They began yelling when the figures appeared, hugging each other as it became obvious that all the previous productivity records had been smashed. I saw Vernon Schillinger stand up, raising a clenched fist toward the metallic ceiling and I heard him say: "Oz brings more money to the company than any other mine!" and the men shouted out their approval. Next to me, Glynn's right-hand man, Tim McManus, was watching the scene, a worried expression on his face. 

"Are they right? Is Arcturus4 as profitable as Schillinger pretends it is?" he asked me, frowning. 

"No." I sighed, shook my head. "No, it's not. Well, it is profitable at the moment, but as soon as the new safety standards are implemented, it'll be over, because bringing this…" I pointed at the walls of our obsolete tin can, "into compliance with those standards will cost too much money. I'd say about 50 times the annual operating budget. The place's too old, the mine's too dangerous, Arcturus is too far. I read the reports over and over today. Those men are working every day at the risk of their own life. This structure's one of the most dangerous mines still running. It will be more profitable and much safer to dismantle Oz and abandon Arcturus4, start it all over again with a new mine on some easier planet." 

"I see what you mean," McManus pointed to the miners below. "But that will be real shit to explain to them. They feel like they own the place. And they do, in a way. Much more than me or anybody in the EMC." 

I knew that, and as I watched those men crying out their faith in the future of Oz, I felt a shiver run down my spine. I was about to leave when I saw Keller, sitting aside from the others, his arms crossed on his chest, his legs stretched in front of him, watching the crowd with the same enigmatic smile I'd already noticed. At the same moment, he looked upwards and his eyes caught mine for a second… I was thinking about going down the stairs and talking to him when I saw him rise, stretch lazily, then cross the room to leave without a word, leaving me disappointed and frustrated. I hadn't seen him again since our first meeting in the gym two days ago and I didn't know how I could ever talk to him again. I sighed and went back to the staff quarters. McManus had offered to go to the gym with me and I'd agreed. That way I could get rid of Murphy, whose look reminded me of my mother's last glance, and McManus' company was better than none. I began to think that loneliness could be the worst thing I'd have to endure during my stay on Oz and making friends had never been my strong point. McManus didn't seem to have many friends either so we found a mutual advantage in each other's company. Later that evening, I found a pretext to skip the dinner with the other members of the staff. I wanted to be alone and think about the situation: maybe the reasons why the EMC wanted to close Oz weren't that simple, after all. Sitting in my office, I wondered whether the company wasn't trying to get rid of the MGTU as well as of a profitless mine. Closing the old mines where most of the Trade Union members worked, opening new ones and asking the new miners to sign out of the Trade Union if they wanted to be hired there could be a good way to stop the increasing influence of the MGTU. If that was the case, I hoped that nobody would find out before I'd left, because I was sure that the unsympathetic Vernon Schillinger wasn't so easily fooled. And if I was right, I didn't dare imagine what his reaction would be. 

**Christopher Keller**

It's easy to know when somebody's attracted to you. I've always been familiar with that, and that night, the guy from Earth, Beecher , seemed pretty happy to see me. He watched me for a long time with hungry eyes, I could feel it without looking up and when I caught his look, he didn't avoid it. That was enough. I managed to leave quickly. On my way back to my room, I kept thinking that I didn't like the way things were going. Schillinger upset me. I knew what he was doing, but honestly I didn't think his plan stood a chance, and I believed that we'd get fucked in the end, as usual. Because we were miners, just that, and we had no instruction, no power, no knowledge of how things worked outside; well maybe Vern knew about that, but the others, they were just the usual kind of slugs and when the time would come to fight, I didn't know how many of them would get mixed up in it. I'd watch them as they hugged in joy. I'm not the hugging type, and I don't feel really proud about my work. I didn't choose it; I'm not fond of it. I'd been named the best miner of the station twice during the previous year: that had been enough, I didn't like the pressure the staff tried to put on us, so I just slowed down the pace and let people forget about me. But I didn't want to leave Oz because I'd been there for 17 years and I didn't know how I would adjust somewhere else. I was thinking about that as I opened the locked door of a private stairway with a stolen key, closing it behind me, and stepping up to the second floor. The place was empty and Beecher 's door was open. I had thought he'd be in the staff dining room with the McManus and the others and that would have made things much easier: unlock the door to his room, open the computer files, find out Beecher 's password and take a look inside. Stealing the files for Vern was an easy thing, and I would've been gone before Beecher 's return. No use working my charms on him, then. 

But there he was, sitting at his desk, his elbows on his knees, watching the floor, frowning. 

"Hey," I said playfully. He started, turned his head, smiled. 

"Hey! How did you get there?" he asked. That didn't seem to bother him much, though. 

"You know… I had a key. Useful thing." He pushed his hair back and I noticed the way his eyes seemed to shine under the cold light. I watched as his tongue wetted his lips reflexively: I'd seen him do that in the gym two days ago. 

"Come in and close the door. I'm not supposed to socialize with anyone round here. This place's worse than a prison. I'd like to know why they keep me apart from anyone here." 

I walked in, took a look around. The room was not very different from mine. Larger. But it was the same kind of functional place, all grey and metallic and ugly. There was a window, though." Nice view, nice place. Cosy and all…" I crossed the room, entered a bedroom. A separate bedroom, with a real door you could close. Good for me. "Your bed's bigger than mine." I opened a door, whistled. "Private shower… Lucky guy!" 

I turned back to him. He watched me, a bit stunned, I guess. 

"What do you want?" he asked. He wore black pants and a black shirt, all buttoned up, hair a bit messy. If I'd not seen him in the gym, I'd still have believed he was the perfect pansy ass lawyer Vern had told me about. But the guy was strong and he could fight. I'd seen that. I knew that kind of men, all peaceful and calm most of the time, who tended to get crazy sometimes. Unpredictable men. Dangerous men. Some of the miners on Oz were like that, too. They worked there peacefully for months, maybe years, and one day ran amok and slaughtered anyone who crossed their way. I didn't know why, but I thought Beecher could be one of those crazy fucks. Then I realized he'd asked a question and was obviously waiting for an answer. Get a grip, Keller, I told myself. 

"In the gym the other day? Nothing personal." 

He snorted, frowned. "Oh yeah? It seemed personal enough to me." He answered, his eyes not leaving me. I came back to the desk, sat on a corner. "Nah. See, we ain't got a lot of fun here. Working out is part of it. A big part. But last month, Glynn decided we couldn't go to the gym more than four times a week. I used to work out everyday, sometimes twice a day. He didn't say why. Just a problem with the company's fucking safety standards. I mean, some fights happened there, but nothing too bad. Nobody died." I noticed a picture on the desk in a nice wooden frame. A woman and 2 kids. The woman held a baby in her arms. That made three. Ok. So Beecher was the "married with kids" kind. 

"So when Murphy told me that *you* could have it for yourself, I didn't like it. But it wasn't against you. Just against them." 

He watched me. He'd got that strange expression, thoughtful, serious, like he was trying to decide if he'd give me a second chance. Then he nodded and asked: 

"Is that a kind of apology?" Take it however you want. "That your wife?" I asked, pointing to the photo. "Nice chick." 

Beecher didn't seem as enthusiastic as I expected and just nodded. "Are you married?" he asked. 

"I've been. It never worked. I tried it 4 times." 

He looked genuinely stunned. "4 times?" he asked, giving me an incredulous look. 

"Yeah. But I married one of the girls twice." 

I liked the way he snorted. He looked younger and naïve. I love naïve and overeducated guys. They're easy. 

"I bet she came back begging for more?" Aw, and I had him right where I wanted. 

"Actually, I begged her to take me back," I answered. Well, that was true, all things considered. His eyes roamed over me, on my mouth, on my body… 

"Well, she was one lucky woman." He whispered. I couldn't believe it. I caught his eyes, expecting irony, but there was none. I just saw… I don't know what it was. Lust, probably, but underneath there was something else. I had no time to spend on that, so I just went on to see if that would work. 

"How's your bed?" I asked. He gave me a wary look. "Why?" 

I shrugged. "Well, I think we could give it a try, don't you?" 

That look again. God, he seemed so serious I almost felt sorry for him. Then he nodded again like he had the first time. "Yes. We could." 

I'd told Vern it would be easy. All I had to do now was fuck the guy into sleep and do my job. And maybe leave Oz just after that. Let things go on without me. I followed him in the bedroom and began to strip, purposely slow. He'd won the right to take a good look before the final assault. 

He was shy. Well, maybe not shy, actually, but strangely reserved and silent. Not the kind who talks and begs and yells. But his eyes, fuck, his eyes did that all. Talk, and beg, and yell. I kissed him sweet because I thought he could freak out but the way he shoved me against the wall… I nearly broke my skull. 

"You've been thinking about me, Beecher?" I asked in his ear, breaking the kiss to catch my breath. 

"Yes." And he kissed me again. I pushed him on the bed. Time to make things right, Beecher. See what you're worth. I undressed him hastily. His skin was soft and pale, his body muscled and strong, slender and flexible. I'd seen that in the gym two days ago, I'd noticed the soft curves of his shoulders, his arms, his square hands, and his long neck, the way it bowed and strained every time he hit the punching ball. I'd seen his perfectly muscled back and his slim waist… I wanted to see it again. I wanted those hands to clutch to me, this head to tilt backwards in pleasure. I kissed his neck, licked his shoulder blade, bit his ear, and heard him hiss softly. I laughed into his neck. He smelled good. He didn't smell like the guys on Oz, or like the girls on Mars5 or anyone I'd known. I thought I'd smelled something like that before, but I didn't remember where. " Beecher … Tobias… I'll call you Toby, OK?" I kissed him again "Yeah, I like that. Toby." I loved the sound of the name, I could roll it in my mouth like candy, make it sound needy or sweet. "Toby…" I said again, and heard him moan softly as I took his whole cock in my mouth. 

Later, as he was straddling me, my dick deep in his ass, so tight, so hot around me, his arms around my shoulders, his face in my neck, his ragged breath against my skin, I grabbed his hair and pulled his head back. I didn't want to move yet. I wanted him to get used to the feeling, I wanted to make him wait a bit more. Just a bit more and then… 

"Look at me, Toby. Look at me. I wanna see your eyes." He opened his eyes slowly, rested an unfocused gaze on me and I shivered. I'd never have a chance to see what people on Earth call the sky. Their sky, so blue in the movies I'd watched. So blue, so clear, so light above their head. And I would never see it now; it was too late for me. But that first night when I lost myself in Beecher 's eyes, that was it. I saw it. It was the same feeling, a feeling of freedom, the feeling you're watching through a pale crystal. 

"Move," I whispered, half crazy with need. "Move on me." He opened his mouth, wetted his lips again with the tip of his tongue and began to move, his head thrown back. It was awkward first, but I let him set the pace and then, I began to move too, more and more forcefully, my fingers dipping in his skin, bruising it as I brought him back on me to get deeper and deeper inside him… He'd closed his eyes. "Look at me!" I said, and he did, but after a while, he shook his head and closed his eyes again. Yeah, I thought, pushing him on his back in the middle of the bed to fuck him more easily and take control, yeah, his eyes were like the sky of earth, they were like the water of the pools in the greenhouse, so translucent, and I don't know why but this mere thought pushed me straight over the edge, and I shoved my dick hard inside him and then… then… Oh god, just thinking of it makes me hard, so many years later, the soft moan I heard, the noises in his throat, the way his body shook suddenly when I stroke his dick, once, twice and we came together, as the whole station seemed to shatter around us and we fell through infinite darkness, holding each other tight. That's when I fucked up, I guess. Because I'd never known that kind of pleasure before. Not like that. I'd never fucked a man whose eyes sheltered a whole sky, and whatever happened later, whatever I learned about him, however crazy he got, I never forgot that moment. 

When I woke up Toby was holding me tight. I couldn't move without waking him up and I didn't want to wake him up. It was dawn, anyway, through the window in front of me I could see the clouds around Arcturus change from a dark red into a deep gold. I knew I couldn't finish the job that day. I sighed. Ok, I'd do it later. I'd have to fuck him again… I closed my eyes and relaxed in his arms as he moved against me, counted to ten. 

" Beecher ? I've gotta go." I shook him softly, watched him stretch, open his eyes. He watched me for a whole minute. His eyes rested on my mouth just long enough to let me know what he was thinking about. Then he nodded. 

"I'll be back tonight." 

"You'd better be." 

I was about to leave when he called me back. "Hey!" I turned to watch him. "Next time I think we should try the shower." 

Aw. Working for Schillinger was such a thrill! I laughed. "Whatever you want, Beecher ." 

Then I closed the door softly and left before anybody knew I'd been there. 


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you Eliza for the beta, extraordinary one as usual (and very useful!!). And thanks to Joanne for the song! (Chemical worker's son by great big sea). Very inspiring. 

****************************************** 

** Chris Keller  **

The mine is alive and dangerous like a monster crouched deep below the surface, waiting for its next prey. That's what I would've told the rookies, if they'd dared ask me. It's a living animal, always consider it that way, and you'll be safe. Well, as safe as you can be down there at least. Of course they didn't ask. Much too afraid of me, I guess, and I didn't really care, actually. Sometimes, I gave them a little welcome fuck, just for fun. After that, they didn't come near me again. 

I worked in the worst place deep inside the second pit of the mine. Level -14, just above hell - well if I died there it wouldn't be too long a trip to my eternal stay and I could've sworn I felt the flames lick my boots sometimes, and the place even haunted my nights, back on Oz. Not many of us agreed to work so deep. It was hot, wet even inside the space suit and my lungs required a special mix of oxygen and other stuff to keep breathing normally. The guys there, on A4, they thought I was crazy but this was probably one of the reasons why they respected me, left me alone, didn't get in my way too much –that and the fear that I could snap their neck if I got pissed off. 

The galleries were so narrow I could touch each side of them when I stretched my arms out and I could barely stand up, always working half-bent over the rock, but I enjoyed it, enjoyed the physical struggle. I enjoyed working alone too, I wasn't good at working with other guys, always too slow, too chatty. They just stood there shaking, more frightened than I was, driving me mad. Yeah and besides there were some benefits of course: I worked five hours a day instead of 8 and my working week was shorter. I made more money, too, because the place was more dangerous than any other, but the ore more valuable yet. 

Even the trip down there gave me a thrill. I stepped inside the elevator with 300 other guys, free of our helmets for a while yet, breathing real air, joking, laughing, ready for the descent. First level, 25 guys walking out like ducks in the thick space suits. Second level, third, fourth and same thing till the tenth one. After that, it was only 6, 4, 3 at the time who left and the elevator went silent. No more laughs, or voices, jokes, just the silence and a recorded artificial voice reciting "tenth level… safety door opened, airlock pressurized, outside door open… airlock closed, safety door closed…" and so on, until I was the only one there, taking the trip to the place I felt was mine, heart pounding, nerves tingling. The last level was 4 miles under the surface, dark and silent. Moving there was like moving in water, and the space suit didn't help but I'd got used to it. 

So deep, the rock was different, darker, the shining veins of ore running in erratic curves through the black stone, drawing strange shining patterns, like an odd painting on a colossal wall. When the day ended, when my brain began to give up, when it became difficult to breathe, the drawings seemed to move in front of me and come to life until I had to close my eyes to stop the illusion. That's where I dug and plunged my tools 5 hours a day, bringing back small iridescent nuggets of the most expensive ore in the universe, for a wage that exceeded my wildest dreams. Maybe I would end up a rich man, after all. And of course, the deeper I went, the purer it was. Holding it in my hands it was like nothing else I knew. It was warm and somewhat… shivering against my skin, like it had a life of its own and the silky surface was so soft that I didn't want to let go of it. Some miners had died because they had become so crazy with it they couldn't wait to be back on top to feel its caress; they'd taken off their gloves, reality slowly fading in their hazy minds at the end of the working day. Some miners loved it so much that they spent all their money to buy some of those precious nuggets and put them on a shelf in their room when they retired. Some tried to steal them, and got themselves fired, that's why we had to go through a thorough shakedown when the day was other. Hey, some even hid the nuggets in their ass. I guess the guys doing the shakedown were having a good time, because snaking your fingers in someone else's ass without asking doesn't happen so often after all. 

Anyway the mine was like a woman, you wanted to go deeper, and get some more but unlike the women I'd known, it was never yielding or sweet; the mine's always fighting, making the stuff better still. Yeah, being there, alone, in this wet heat, was like fucking. I didn't think I'd ever get such a kick out of anything else. That's why I would've helped Schillinger or the devil himself to keep the place running, to keep the thing going, to keep my adrenalin level high and my heart beating like crazy most of the time, wondering how deep I could go, and what I'd find there. And that's why despite the official instructions, I'd been digging further, deeper, carefully listening to the continuous whisper coming from far below, probably the center of this weird world, maybe a warning, ready to run back to the emergency elevator if things went really bad. 

So, what was wrong that day? What was wrong, why wasn't it quite the same, why couldn't I just concentrate on the job and close my mind to any other thought? Like… like there was some place else I'd rather have been, a place where I could've rested, strong arms locked around me? A place where my body already felt at home, where I got a better thrill than here, a place I'd been longing for since I'd left Oz three days ago and fuck! Just thinking of Beecher was making me hard, and there was something I definitely knew: a space suit wasn't the best place to get hard. No way I could jerk off there, right? So I had to forget about Beecher and go back to my old life, cursing Vern for the glimpse of happiness he'd allowed me to catch: two fucking great nights, with a man who probably hated my guts right now. I sighed. No way I could have him back, I guessed. Too bad, why did I always want people I was obviously unable to keep, people I had nothing to do with? 

I was lost in the middle of that when I heard it, a noise coming from very near, maybe 10 yards on the left, and froze. A faint rumbling, sand sliding lazily down a wall, a soothing sound. But I'd heard it once already, long ago, and I wouldn't be caught off guard again so before it got louder, before the danger came too near, before it was too late, I ran as fast as I could towards the elevator, stumbling on the stony ground, punched the emergency button with my fist, once, twice and Christ it was taking so long, I could hear the noise grow in my ears, and the dust began rushing from the far end of the mine, I was pounding the fucking door with my both hands, "Come on, come on! Open up!"… When it finally slid open and the stupid artificial voice warned me that the airlock was fucking unlocked and the safety door was released, I rushed inside, silently praying for the elevator to take me away fast, and just when I felt a slight move upward the first stones crushed against the door, I heard the thunder of the mine falling down, burying the whole gallery. I felt weak suddenly; my legs gave way beneath me and I fell to my knees, shaking with fear because it had just been a matter of seconds this time, and I couldn't be that lucky forever. If I hadn't heard and recognized the sandy murmur, I would never have reached the elevator in time and fuck, I would've been dead by now, my body crushed under tons of stones. And my ex-wife wouldn't have received shit, because I was working too deep and that was against orders, even if I knew that Schillinger and the other supervisors had kept their eyes closed to that. And above all… I took my helmet off, and my gloves, and fuck, why did my hand hurt so much? I listened to the comforting voice telling me through the radio that I was nearly at the surface, and the shrieking sound of the emergency alarm, the continuous crash of the mine crumbling below… Above all, I would never have seen Beecher again, and it struck me suddenly that this would've been the most excruciating thing in my whole life. 

When the door eventually opened, I had a blurry vision of people waiting there, shouting and I was lifted, carried until I was lying in a hospital bed. 

"What happened?" 

I told them what had happened. The doctor examined me as I kept talking. 

"I'm OK," I said, trying to push him away. 

"No. You're in shock. I'm going to get you shipped back to Oz. You'll rest there until you're able to sleep well at night. And from what I see, from what you just told me," I'd been telling him about every thing, every single detail of the accident, in a shaky voice and I knew the fear was still there, "it could take some weeks." 

Weeks! My heart jumped. Weeks on Oz would give me time to make it up to Beecher . Fuck, I'd wanted so badly to leave, put thousands miles between us and now I was longing to see him again, I could feel a stupid grin on my face. Get a grip, Keller! I closed my eyes and leaned back, trying to breathe as deeply as I could, forcing my heartbeat to slow down. My hands burnt; I hadn't felt the heat, but the gloves had melted as I was running and my right hand was badly hurt, as well as my wrist and part of my arm. I began to feel strangely hazy from the painkillers… "It won't last," the doc warned me, "When you're back on Oz, you'll be able to feel the pain again. I'll give you pills…" 

"I don't need your fucking pills." 

He laughed. "You will need them. Believe me, you will." 

I shrugged and closed my eyes and I must have dozed again because I don't remember a single thing about the trip to Oz. 

The doctor was right. My hand began hurting like hell as soon as I was back in my room. I closed the door; I didn't want people to come and bother me right now, I wasn't in the mood. I lay on my bed, trying to concentrate on something else than the pain and my heart pounding in my chest; or Beecher's ass, the noise he'd made during sex... Next time I opened my eyes Schillinger was sitting on a chair beside the bed, watching me. I hadn't really been expecting him. 

"How do you feel, Chris?" He asked in an almost gentle tone. 

I sighed. "I don't know. Better. Alive." 

"Yes, thanks to your sharp reflexes, you are. I'm proud of you, boy." 

I kept silent, uncertain of what I should say. Boy? That was sudden. And very disquieting, I realized warily, knowing Vern well enough to remember that the father-like tone, whenever he used it, didn't bode well. 

"You're a hero," he added. A hero? Fuck. 

"I'm no hero, Vern. I didn't save anyone's ass but mine!" 

"Who cares? We need someone like you. Glynn," he sighed, "Glynn wants somebody who's not in the Trade Union to attend the discussions." 

Oh fuck. Just the kind of thing I hate. I'm quite dumb in such circumstances and I know I can't do any good there. Besides, I don't want to be involved if things turn bad. "No way, Vern." 

"Keller, who can talk better than you about the working conditions, who can talk about the danger better than you? No one can speak for the miners better than you!" He probably guessed how unconvincing he sounded, because he added. "And maybe the fact you're there will help us to get along better with that man from Earth, because I tell you, Chris, he's one fucking stubborn bitch!" 

" Beecher ?" I had to be sure. 

"Yes. Beecher ." 

I sighed. Beecher again. After all, maybe I could give it a try, I would just keep my mouth shut as much as I could. 

** Tobias Beecher **

I could feel it. Could feel the tension build slowly, rise day after day. Every meeting between us and "them" as Glynn called the miners was becoming tenser and more hostile, the air thick with unspoken and mutual loathing. Whatever we could offer was not enough, whatever symbolic move we made was turned into derision. What they hated wasn't the company, I realized. It wasn't the mine, they loved it; it wasn't Oz or the deprivations they had to endure there. They hated us. Us, people from Earth. Men from Earth. They hated us, despised us, they would have spat in our faces if Schillinger hadn't been so tough on them. And he was, Christ, he really was. The authority emanating from this man was much more than anything I'd seen before. He made Glynn and McManus look like schoolboys. He was tough, harsh and unyielding and the men on Oz admired him. They feared him and admired him, because he was brutal, dishonest and probably completely crazy but deeply attached to them as well. Maybe he despised most of them as much as he despised us, men from the old decadent world, but they were his to defend and protect. He bared his teeth at me every time I dared talk and so did Glynn, for different reasons, so once or twice I thought of slamming the door of the meeting room and tell them to go fuck themselves. I was exasperated with Glynn and genuinely afraid of Schillinger. But a little voice inside my head kept telling me that I was the one responsible for this mess, so I stayed and endured. On the sixth day we received a message from Devlin telling us that the company had decided to call the private armed forces hired by the company to take over the place. The guys were settled on Mars3, they would be on Oz six days later so if we could just amuse the miners some more, concede some strategic points to soothe the mood and keep the things going, we'd be out of trouble soon. 

"It's a very bad idea. They'll know," I told Glynn. 

"Why? Are you going to tell them again?" he snarled, and I stiffened, ready to fight... The place was getting to me, I was losing my temper more often that I would've liked. 

"This isn't helping." McManus raised a hand, slammed it upon the desk. "Both of you need to call a truce or something because it's really not helping. The way you're constantly fighting is ruining every effort we make to show some solidarity!" 

Huh! McManus had balls, after all. Actually he seemed a little stunned at his own outburst but Glynn nodded. "OK. Guess we're a little upset." I noticed he looked tired. "So Beecher ? What do you mean?" 

"I don't trust Schillinger. I'm sure he knows a lot about what's going on here," I explained, "he's not stupid. A smart man like him certainly covered every possible angle. If he thinks he's threatened, he will react. Badly. I wouldn't bet a single buck on our lives then." 

Glynn looked skeptikal. "These men might not be the kind of guys you would usually hang around with, but they wouldn't take such a risk. Killing one of us? That would be signing their death warrant." 

I couldn't believe he was telling that, believe that he was so blind. "Remember what happened 5 years ago on the other mining station? Remember how many men died there? Glynn, that's the same men you're discussing things with now. Same job, same beliefs, same fears…" 

He shrugged. "Things have changed. The wages are higher; the working conditions better, the safety standards…" 

I cut him short. 

"Like Schillinger gives a damn about all that! He's a fanatic, Glynn. He fights for his cause; he doesn't care about people's lives. He'll call that collateral damages, he'll fight dirty if he has to. And if he has to sacrifice his life and become a hero, so be it! He'll do it. Although I'm sure he'll try to sacrifice the others before." I sighed. "I'd be delighted to see those men from Mars3 break in here and set us free, but I'm afraid of what will happen until then. 6 days… That's a long time." 

Glynn seemed to think about that for a while, and then nodded. "We'll have to play their game for a while to be sure they don't guess anything. That's what we'll do, and I expect you to play the game as well." 

Sure. What else could I do, anyway? 

We parted and McManus took me to my room. No more working out, and this time, there was no one to protect me from the hostile looks, the bad jokes and the threats. I wasn't worth it anymore. 

"Glynn's wrong," I whispered to McManus, "all this is going to end badly." 

"You could ask to go back to Earth, Beecher. I'd say… your job here is done." 

I sighed. "Yes, and didn't I fuck up royally? I know I did. That's why I'm still here." 

McManus and I stood at the door of my room. He turned to me. "Feel responsible?" 

I snorted. "I'd love to say that, McManus but actually, I don't give a damn about what happens there after I'm gone. The real reason is that I'm not sure I'll ever be able to face the company, my folks, my wife and my kids again." 

He shook his head. "I understand. When the army guys arrive, though… You'll have to go. I don't think you'd be able to live anywhere else than on Earth. Mars3 and the other colonies are for tough guys." 

How nice! McManus had such a sweet way to smack you in the face. I don't think he was even aware of insulting me. "Yeah," I answered, "and I'm such a pansy ass guy, that's what you mean." 

He shrugged. "Let's face it, Beecher . You don't belong with these men." 

"Like you do!" I felt angry this time so I walked inside and slammed the door. 

I couldn't fall asleep that night. I pulled the chair up in front of the window and sat there, watching the stars surrounding us and the planet they called Arcturus4, which looked so small and lost from there. I'd have given anything to be back home without having lived any of this. I'd given my trust to Keller because I'd felt so lonely and how stupid was that? I had been so easy and so naïve and so needy. I hadn't even given him the pleasure of seducing me: I'd pounced on him and surrendered like a college girl. Probably he'd found all this very funny. I was pretty sure that the sex had been good for him too, but what hurt, what really hurt was the way he'd coaxed me into confidence, the way I'd trusted him, told him everything, mesmerized by his caresses, his encouragements, his soothing voice, his kisses. Every time I'd been about to stop on the threshold of some really intimate confidence, he'd pushed me ahead, his voice warm and soft. "C'mon, Toby, you can talk to me. Talk to me, you need it." He was right, I had needed it. Talking to him, listening to his questions, I'd realized how unhappy I was, how lost I was, how much I needed to change things in my life. He's listened to me so attentively… And all that had been done to trap me. Christ, it hurt so bad that I had to get up and pace the little room to release the tension. What had he thought of me? Had he even thought something? After all it was just a job, the guy worked for Schillinger, he probably didn't care much about the consequences. I wondered what Keller had told him about us, about the sex. About my life and the secrets we'd shared. I was sure he had said something because during the meetings, Schillinger had kept his eyes on me with a knowing smile and at the end of the last one, he'd told me I looked tired, and asked me if we should move the meeting to the greenhouse, because he'd been told I was dying to visit the place. The ironic tone of the remark had focused everybody's attention on my reddening face and I'd been sure then that Keller had treated him to our romantic little conversation. Treacherous bastard, I wanted to kill him. The memory made me sick with pain and anger and I threw the chair against the wall, walked to the table in the corner of my room. A miner called O'Reilly who seemed rather friendly had sold me two bottles of what passed for whisky here, giving me a pitiful look. "You'll need it!" he'd said. The price was ridiculous and the man had looked sincerely sorry for me. The alcohol was really strong and sickening but hell, I didn't really mind. All I wanted was feel the fear and the humiliation go away, forget about what I'd have to face during the next days and maybe during my whole life. I was badly drunk when I heard someone knocking on my door. I stood still for a while, watching the door stupidly. 

"Beecher, it's Schillinger. Open the door. We need to talk." 

"I don't need to talk to you. I've got nothing to say to you." I wished my voice was a little more assured. 

I heard a sigh. "I can help, Beecher ," he said almost softly, "open the door. I can make things easier for you." My mind was hazy with alcohol and pain. I felt weary and beaten; I didn't imagine anything worse would happen to me and I desperately needed some help. I opened the door and Schillinger walked inside. He wasn't alone, one of his friends was there, a nearly bald man with a wicked smile. 

"Stay out!" he ordered in his harsh tone and the man nodded. Without a word, Schillinger grabbed my arms and I was pushed to the bed, yelling, fighting as much as I could and stripped of my pants, hit square on the chest, so hard that I lost my breath for several seconds as he bent me over the desk, unfastening his own pants. I tried to escape so he hit me again on the jaw and pushed me to the bed. He grabbed my arms, pinned me to the mattress and talked to me in a low menacing voice. 

"Ok, so listen, cupcake, this can be painful or extremely painful, depends on you. You fight, I'm gonna make you regret it, I swear. You stay still and you won't be hurt too bad." 

So I kept still. I did. Christ, I was so scared, and I couldn't believe that was happening. I was being raped. He thrust mercilessly in me, making me yell into the pillow he'd shoved under my face, I felt the pain, and the disgust, and the fear wash over me, the bitter taste of alcohol and blood and none of the pleasure I'd experienced with Keller. When he was done, he laughed, slapped my ass almost gently. "That's what people from Earth are for. I just loved that, maybe I'll use you again over the next few days… Of course, you won't talk about this to anybody. I wouldn't like that. I could become very angry. Understood?" He pulled me up facing him, grasping my hair, his breath against my face. I saw his cold glare and nodded, shaking with disgust. His smell was making me sick, his touch made me want to vomit. 

I heard the door slam and collapsed onto the bed, hoping to die before dawn. 

** Chris Keller **

I'd been drinking a lot, dancing, fucking virtual girls and not-so-virtual men in the bar for half the night, celebrating the simple fact of being still alive. Fuck! I'd been hugged and patted and praised like no time before and that felt suspiciously good. Everybody seemed to consider that I was a hero, as Schillinger had told me earlier and I began to like the whole thing, actually, so I gave in to the partying mood, letting go of the tension and enjoying the night, and when Schillinger joined us, I was flying. 

"You were right," he told me, "he's hot and tight." 

I fell. I fell suddenly. I was standing here, watching Vern, and this goddamn crazy Robson who follows him everywhere like a bodyguard. 

"What?" I asked, shouting over the loud music, my mouth suddenly dry. 

" Beecher … I fucked him." 

I turned to him, trying to give nothing away, trying to keep my tone as matter of fact as possible. "Why?" 

"You seemed to be quite pleased with the guy, so I thought I'd give it a try." 

Breathe, Keller, breathe. "Yeah?" I asked. "And so?" 

"Well, he fought a bit, but I guess he liked it in the end." 

I doubted that. Really, I did. I knew all there was to know about Vern's ways in such circumstances, and quite frankly, I didn't think anyone could take any pleasure in that. I sure hadn't, the memory was still painfully vivid. 

"You raped him?" I still asked, watching him nod and smile. 

"Hey," I pulled him apart. I was tired and very angry, "you could've asked, Vern. I'm not done with the guy yet." 

He looked at me, frowned. "You want him?" 

"Yeah, fuck yeah! I really enjoyed fucking him and I'm not sure he's in the right mood for that after what you've done to him!" 

Vern laughed, patted my shoulder. "C'mon son… You deserve it, OK?" He said with a laugh. Behind him, I saw Robson's glare on me, hating me for every single word Vern spoke to me. 

"He's Vern's now," the guy snarled angrily, "find yourself another toy!" 

Vern's other hand landed on Robson's arm. "James, it's OK. I'm not so crazy about that, you know. There will be plenty of opportunities later. Chris was there first, and I got what I wanted, so," he closed his fingers on the back on my neck like he'd have done with a kid or a pet and I hated him for this, too, "so if you want him, take him. I won't interfere. Like I said, I'm proud of you and you deserve it." 

I leaned slightly and kissed him on the lips, and he opened his mouth. Fuck, that was disgusting, I could've puked but I felt so exhilarated that I would've done anything and Vern's stunned look when it was over was priceless. 

"I owe you, Vern!" I laughed, leaving the place. At the door, I bumped into O'Reilly and his brother. 

"Hey, wanna talk to you, K'boy," he said, grabbing my arm. 

"Yeah, me too, but not now. I've got something to do." 

He watched me with one of his wicked smile. "Guess it has something to do with Beecher , huh? Schillinger had a pretty good time with him. Not sure he'll open his door a second time." 

We stared at each other for a short while. "OK, O'Reilly, spill it." He retrieved something in his pocket and handed it out to me. "Door code," he whispers, "so you don't have to break in." 

I nod. "What are you up too, O'Reilly?" 

"I'm not sure. I'll tell you tomorrow, right. Make sure you're there around 9. Try to get yourself some sleep." 

"Vern's enough of a father to me, O'Reilly. Don't push your luck," I growled, but he just laughed. Crazy fearless fool! 

I walked up the stairs and ran through the narrow corridors, under the cold white lights, my footsteps echoing all around me, in the roaring silence of the station. I didn't meet anyone, it seemed like the place was deserted and I realized that most of the miners were in the bar, and the staff was locked in their rooms, shaking with fear and the idea made me smile. I would love to get back at Murphy and some others later… They'd learn to know me better, I thought, they'd learn how right they'd been to be afraid of me, and how wrong they were to piss me off like they had been. The thought made me grin, I could taste blood. Using O'Reilly's gift, I opened Beecher 's door and walked in. The office was empty and silent. I crossed the room, noticed that the lights were still on and stepped into the tiny bedroom. Beecher was sitting on the bed, motionless, his face buried in his hands, shoulders hunched. The place raked of sweat and sex and fear, and I could hear Beecher 's ragged breathing. 

"Hey!" I called softly, watching him raise his head and rest his eyes on me. Christ, he looked like shit. His jaw was bruised and his eyes red with tears, his lips swollen. When he stood up I saw he'd clenched his fists, I saw his hateful look. I knew what he felt. I knew what he needed. 

"So," I said, "I'm off for just three days and you find yourself another guy? You're a slut, Beecher!" I taunted. He didn't give me any time to react, pounced on me, slammed me against the wall, and hit me in the face, once, twice. 

"You fucking motherfucker!" he screamed, "I'm going to kill you!" 

I felt the pain, tasted blood, pushed him away but he jumped on me again and we fell on the floor between the wall and the bed. I let him beat me as much as he wanted, swallowing my screams, taking as much pain as he wanted to give, fighting a bit so he didn't believe that I was doing it on purpose, and when he stopped, breathless, I managed to ask. "D'ya wanna fuck me, Beecher , d'ya want to shove your dick up my ass? Is that what you need?" 

It was a real free-for-all then. He threw me on the bed and I yelled because my hand really hurt, but he just smiled a wicked smile before stripping me of my clothes as I struggled a bit, making it more exciting for him, because that's what he needed right then to take back what Vern had stolen from him, power, pride, so I let him overpower me as much as he wanted to and he wasn't gentle, there wasn't any foreplay and no kissing, just his fingers deep inside me, and me yelling in pain. 

"Does it hurt, Keller? Because that's the way it's going to be, so don't expect too much!" 

He was right. His thrusts were hard and deep, hurting and his hand on my dick rough and demanding. "Do you like it, Keller?" I didn't answer, I was too busy not screaming so he laughed crazily and went on. I managed to come in his hand, just before he came deep inside me, and had me yelling once more… Christ, when he sagged against me my ass hurt like hell, and so did my hand, but I didn't push him away. Minutes later, I felt him shiver against me and heard his voice, rough and tired. 

"Fuck. I'm… I'm sorry, Keller." He stood up and I could turn, lie there on my back, each and every part of my body hurting and sore. 

"I… I got carried away." I saw the struggle in his eyes, the anger and the shame, the conflict. He would've kicked me out, but he felt bad for what he'd just done, because it was exactly what Vern had done to him hours ago, or so he thought. How does that feel, Beecher , to be the bad one for once? Nice change, I guessed. He looked so bad that I decided I'd play along some more. I knew the right buttons now. As long as he felt guilty, he wouldn't push me away. 

"It's OK, Beecher. I'm OK. I deserved it, I guess," I sighed, taking a look at my wounded hand. He looked at it in horror. I tried to get up and failed, fell back with a painful moan, watching him turn pale. Things were getting better and better. 

"I… No, nobody deserves that, Keller. Let me take a look at your hand." 

Jesus, he was so easy! He took my hand in his carefully and I heard his breath catch. "You... You've gotta see a doctor, Chris." 

Mmmm. Chris again. That was really good. I closed my eyes. "It's all right. I was burnt when the mine collapsed; a stone must have torn up my gloves." 

He nodded softly, his eyes on my fingers. "I heard about that. You could've been killed." 

Hope was slowly surging inside me. "Were you worried? I didn't think you'd give a damn, I thought you'd be happy if I died." 

He gave a sad laugh. "I thought so, too. It would've been a sweet revenge, of course, but I wanted to kill you myself." 

I closed my eyes, not to sure what to think, after all. "But you didn't kill me tonight, right?" I asked softly. He shook his head, let go of my hand. "No. I'd dreamed about it, really, I toyed with the idea for days, but I couldn't. I just couldn't." 

I didn't move, just brushed my fingers against his naked sweaty arm. He had beautifully muscled arms. He looked thinner and lost, not much left of the tidy man I'd met 2 weeks ago; it was hard not to jump on him and fuck him senseless. 

"I love you, Beecher." I whispered and heard him snort. He shoved me away roughly. "Yeah? When did you realize that?" His voice sounded angry but I heard the pain simmering below, "Just after you fucked up my life?" 

"I don't know. When the stones were falling behind me, the only thing I could think was that maybe I would never see you again." I sat up with a sigh. Fuck, I felt like I'd been torn up. He kept his wary eyes on me, trying to fight his own feelings. Trying to remember how badly I'd behaved. 

"Vern came here, he…" 

"I know. That was the first thing the bastard told me." 

"He said he'd come back." 

"He won't. He won't touch you again, I swear." 

He frowned. "How can you be sure?" 

I sighed, leaned back on the bed. "I'm the hero, here, Beecher. There's not much they can refuse me. They want me to attend their fucking meetings with Glynn and the others, so I said "Yes, but no one touches Beecher …" 

He wasn't as naïve as he seemed, I knew it when he adds, "but you. No one touches me but you. Cocksucker," clenching his fists. 

"Yeah, well, they're tough guys, that's the only language they can understand. As long as I play nice with Vern you're safe. As long as you don't do anything stupid, you know, like… Pissing him off." 

"I think he'll be pissed off soon enough…" 

** Tobias Beecher  **

That's when I realized I was on the verge of telling Keller about Devlin's decision to call in the army to set us free. I shut up just in time but I'm pretty sure that I saw a flicker of recognition behind the tired look in his eyes. 

"What am I? Your bitch? Do you own me?" I asked defiantly. 

"Maybe that's what they think but we both know better." 

"I don't want to be owned by anyone. OK? I'm no one's property. Fuck you! Why did you play this game with me from the beginning? You could have broken in, taken what you wanted and never met me! Never broken my heart…" 

Shit. I hadn't wanted to say that, and I expected to see a smug grin but instead of that he nodded and sat down in one fluid motion, like some big cat. 

"That's what I wanted to do but when I saw you in the gym, the first time, you looked…" He shook his head. "I knew I had to have you." 

I walked away from him and leaned against the door, my mouth dry. I had to ask and I felt stupid. "Did you fake it all? I know I'm not so hot, no matter what you say." 

That earned me a dubious look. 

"What do you think? What do you think I faked? The sex? I didn't fake the sex. It was great." 

"Yeah? But you're the kind of guy who'd have sex with anyone and like it, I guess." 

He shrugged. "Maybe," he said thoughtfully "though I never come back for more, at least with a guy. I didn't fake the sex. And I enjoyed listening to you. No one had ever talked to me like that." 

I didn't know what I was supposed to believe. "But you told Schillinger," just saying his name was painful, "you told him about the greenhouse." 

I could feel myself blush and I hoped that my voice wasn't as shaky as I thought it was, but the way he looked at me, Christ, I could've cried. 

"Yeah that was stupid. The greenhouse. Fuck. I've been thinking about it too much. The way we could sit down there," I watched him rise and walk to me, closing the distance between us, "and kiss. Just that…" his mouth was so close, I could feel his breath, and the heat, the desire radiating from him. "Just thinking about that made me hard, Toby." When he kissed me, I didn't resist, the taste of his lips taking away Schillinger's stinky taste. He pulled me to him, held me tight. "I'm sorry, Toby. Do you believe me? I'm so sorry." 

His stubbly jaw was rubbing softly against mine as he cradled me against his chest, and then he pushed me away until I was at arms length, throwing me a glance so intense I shivered. 

"I think I'll stay here tonight," he said, "make sure no one tries anything against you." 

"No way you can touch me then, don't expect that!" I snarled, trying to regain some pride. 

He looked at me and nodded again. "I don't expect anything. I think I'm able to share your bed without jumping on you. Or I could sleep on the floor. I'm used to that." 

He looked miserable, but I saw the beginning of a grin twitching the corners of his lips. "Don't push your luck, Keller, I'm not that stupid," I tried to sound stern, and not as relieved and amused as I felt, but I really couldn't let the guy sleep on the floor hurt as he was, and after what I'd done to him. 

"I'll sleep on the floor," I decided, but before I could make any move he was on me, dragging me bodily onto the bed, keeping me still and looking furious. 

"Listen to me, Beecher. You won't fucking sleep on the floor; you don’t have to punish yourself. What happened tonight with Schillinger… It happened to most of us here. Me, and many other guys. Maybe Schillinger, too, long ago, I can't say. It's not your fault. Don't make things harder still. Please. We don’t know what's to come next." 

He was right, and I felt my throat ache as he went on. "You didn't deserve it, it's Vern's way of controlling people, frighten them. Shit happens here. New guys here, they get raped more often than you say 'hi'." A sob escaped me, and he hugged me tighter still, whispering against my ear, his heavy body pinning mine to the bed, "You can sleep, Beecher . I won't touch you. I'm too tired and besides, my ass hurts like hell, thanks to you. Don't know how I'll sit down tomorrow." I heard him laugh. 

I felt weariness take over, my limbs were heavy and he was warm against me. I nestled my head in the crook of his neck and closed my eyes. It was hot and comforting, I could feel his chest rising softly, his heartbeat slow down and I fell asleep faster than I used to. I woke up for a short while when he got up and told me he was leaving, and sleep swallowed me again. 

** Chris Keller **

I left early, Beecher was still asleep, his arms around my neck, his breath hot against my skin. Fuck, I'd nearly lost this, nearly missed the occasion to make it up to him. I wasn't sure that he'd believed me, not sure that he trusted me but at least, he'd let me stay. I took a shower, dressed and met O'Reilly in the bar at 8:30 . He gave me a smile. 

"Hey, K'boy? So… How does it feel to be a hero?" 

"Yeah, forget it O'Reilly." I sat in front of him, ordered a drink. I was exhausted, my body hurt everywhere and my mind was hazy. I saw O'Reilly raise a mocking eyebrow. "A hissy-fit with a wild cat? Or did you piss your girlfriend off?" 

I shrugged. " Beecher 's not my girlfriend. What do you want, O'Reilly?" 

He watched me some more, his acute gaze trailing on my bruised jaw and the marks on my neck. 

"Glynn said he would be happy to fire you. Just after the miners and the company have come to an agreement. He said you were digging far too deep and that you knew what you were doing. That you deliberately chose to ignore the rules." 

"He wouldn't fire me. He wouldn't dare, not after what happened," I growled and O'Reilly shifted uneasily. 

"Yeah, K'boy, probably not right now but think… In two or three months when all this comes to an end… He would be too happy to get rid of you." 

Fired. 17 years there risking my neck for the company and now fired because I'd been too daring? Fired, that meant sent back to Mars3 and how could I be sure that the cops wouldn't convict me again, throw my ass back in prison? Fuck. Fuck the company, fuck Glynn. 

"How do you know?" 

"I know it, that's all, K'boy. I may not fuck half the guys up there, but I definitely have some interesting friends. Good friends. Well, they don't like you much, but you were willing to help, the other day, so…" 

"Cut it out, O'Reilly. Is there anything else?" 

"The other thing is…" O'Reilly had this smile again and I was not in the mood to play his game, not now. 

"Spill it, O'Reilly!" I growled and he laughed. "Yeah, I will, K'boy," suddenly his face was deadly serious. "The other thing is that a friend on Mars3 sent me a message. Armed forces there, they left their barracks two days ago. 3000 of them. Could be heading for Oz." 

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes. "You do have interesting friends, O'Reilly!" I stretched. "Does Schillinger know?" 

"Not yet. Not about that. He knows about you though, and let me tell you in an hour's time, all the guys here they'll know too. He's gonna use you, K'boy, use you and set the whole place against Glynn and then," he leaned over the table and whispered, "we'll have one nice bloody riot here." 

The word froze me. A riot. Christ, I should've guessed. Schillinger didn't want to negotiate, he didn't give a fuck about that, he was just waiting for the right thing to happen, the thing that would give him the opportunity to light his fire, start his fucking revolution. 

"So? What do you expect me to do?" 

"Nothing. Really. I don't wanna be involved in a riot and I have my bro' to look after, so, no way I'm part of this shit. I don't wanna be caught in a slaughter here and that's what we'll have in both cases anyway, so I made up my mind. I'll back Schillinger up. It will give us a chance to live. Because if the guys from Mars3 turn up here, they'll get rid of as many of us as possible. Death is a good way to shut us up." 

"But if there's a riot, we don't know what will happen then." I was thinking about Beecher . Too late to make him leave now. Much too late, fuck, I'd been stupid, believing I'd have some control over the whole situation. 

"Yeah, how exciting, huh? Look, I think we can help Schillinger as long as our lives aren't at stake. Then, we'll change sides if we need to." 

"We'll change sides if we're still able to, O'Reilly. It's fucking dangerous." 

He laughed and shrugged, "yeah, and what about you? If you don't get killed, you'll be shifted back to Mars3. If I were you, K'boy, I'd pray for a quick miracle." 

I didn't believe in miracles, not at the moment, I'd gotten one just two days ago, so… I went to Schillinger to hear him tell me that the situation was really bad. We talked for a while and my anger flared suddenly. I remembered O'Reilly's warning about Schillinger manipulating me but really I wanted to meet Glynn, I wanted to face him and hear him tell me I was fired, and then kill him. In the end I felt so tired and upset that I thought I could use a little fix, just to relax, you know, feel better and that of course was a stupid idea. 

** Tobias Beecher  **

A growing rumour said that Glynn will have Chris Keller fired. I didn't know who initiated the rumour, or I knew it too well. It was stupid, Glynn had never thought about it. Maybe wished it, but not decided anything that dangerous and certainly not now. It looked like a pretty good set up and looking at Keller's expression as he was facing Glynn in the meeting room, his fists clenched in his pockets, his eyes cold as death I knew that Schillinger had already won the psychological war, and I was afraid the guys who were supposed to free us wouldn't show soon enough. 

Looking at the faces of the men gathering outside the door, more and more of them, listening to their angry voices, noticing Schillinger's satisfied grin as he watched Keller walk willingly into the trap which would seal our fate, noticing Glynn's nervousness, I knew we were fucked and thought that maybe I'd never see my kids again. So I walked to them through the hostile crowd and grabbed Keller's arm. "Schillinger's lying! Nobody's going to fire you." I whispered. He seemed to remember me and his look softened a little, but he pushed me away. "Don't, Beecher , stay out of this shit." 

"Please, Keller, listen…" 

"I told you to stay the fuck away!" This time his hand was a bit rougher as he brushed me off and I stumbled against another guy's chest… "Hey," the man growled grabbing my arms, "I'll keep an eye on the bitch while you have your little discussion with Glynn." 

I saw Keller's glassy look, the manic twitch of his lips, the madness on his face and I was facing a stranger, not the man who'd spent the night spooned around me, trying to soothe my pain. I wanted to try and intervene again but it was too late. Two guys from the safety team tried to drag Keller back, and all I saw then was the shank in his hand, a flicker of light on the silvery blade, a fast move, blood spurting, one of the men fell on the floor, throat cut open and I heard Keller's roar of triumph as all hell broke loose around me. I should have run away but Glynn was hurt too so I tried to drag him away, find a shelter but then I was caught in the middle of the brawl, fighting back wildly until the moment I just closed my eyes and expected to die as blows fell on me and after a moment I was dragged away. 


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you to Rebecca for her (very wise and helpful) beta, and spending some time on that. 

********************************************* 

KELLER 

518 bodies and blood everywhere, spilled on the floor, dripping down the walls, my clothes stained with it. Not mine, their blood, blood of the guys lying dead or dying, so many men that I had to step over them to make my way to Vern. 

"Great job," he said, "Oz is ours." 

What was left of the staff, Glynn, barely able to stand, a shaken Mc Manus, Murphy, bruised and battered and forty other guys had been gathered in the hall of the second floor, where the worst of the battle had taken place. 

Vern was standing in front of them, enjoying every single moment of their humiliation, every single second of his own success and when he spoke, his voice sounded like a triumphant growl. 

"Gentlemen, we're going to offer you a nice trip down," he said, smiling, "down to A4, where you'll find modern and comfortable facilities," his expression hardened, his tone did, too, "and you'll stay there until we get what we want from the Company." 

When Glynn answered, his voice was weak but fearless. "That will never happen. Never. Devlin won't negotiate, he never does, you may as well kill us now." 

Vern's smile innocuous, he said, "We'll see." 

He pointed to the door and the prisoners were pushed out toward level zero where they would board a shuttle and they knew that was as good as being sent to their death. They didn't expect to survive for long, everybody knew that living on A4 for more than two weeks was sheer agony. 

Later, after I'd managed to shower, I was standing outside the airlock, staring through the window as the guys were sending the bodies out of the station. Five hundred and eighteen bodies: four hundreds of them miners, 118 members of the staff, dressed no better than they were when they'd died, dried blood all over their clothes, some of them unrecognizable, their faces crashed… Some of them I'd killed myself. First they got rid of the bodies one by one, I could see their lips mutter a silent and awkward prayer, but later, when they got tired, they began to kick them out in the darkness surrounding us four at the time, and I could hear obscene laughs and jokes. I turned back and walked away, euphoria suddenly fading away. 

I met Schillinger at the door. 

"Good job you've done there, Chris," he said, patting my shoulder, "Just what we needed. I was right to trust you." 

Yeah, sure, you trusted me just enough to use me like you did, but not enough to let me into the whole plan, you son of a fucking bitch; I'll pay you back for that. 

"And now what?" I asked him as we walked to the elevator side by side, "What do we do next? Those guys from Mars3 will be here by tomorrow, and it will be a whole different situation this time." 

"I'd bet they won't attack. Do you want to know why?" 

"Yeah Vern, I'd like some details. I didn't have a lot of choice in what's happened and I'm not too happy that you used me, so you'd better let me on the gameplan now." 

It wasn't a threat but I guess I sounded angry; I saw Vern frown and behind him, Robson took a step towards me, ready to fight. Fuck, I'd hoped someone would've taken care of the motherfucker; given the opportunity I would've done the job myself happily. Whatever was told later, the riot hadn't only been a "miners versus staff" fight, some good friends of mine had grabbed their chance to settle old scores; I had and I'm sure O'Reilly had too. 

Vern's voice dragged me out of my thoughts, "Let's go sit down somewhere," he said, "I want to talk to you.". 

We walked through the half-dark corridors, cold and silent like I'd never seen them, and sat face to face in Glynn's office. 

"OK, now listen," he began. 

He began to speak but above his shoulder, I spotted a dead man floating in front of me in the deep dark space outside the window. Twice the body bounced against the thick glass and finally floated away but before he disappeared, he seemed to wave at me and I shivered. Vern hadn't seen anything; he had his back to the window and anyway he wouldn't have given a fucking fly about that, probably just waved good-bye and laughed. 

"I've decided that we'd live on optimised resources allocation," he declared, "which means we close all the parts of Oz we don't need, close every unnecessary access, turn down the heat and energy level to a minimum, close the hangars. I'll close the bar..." 

I frowned. Bad idea. 

"I wouldn't do that, Vern the guys need a place to gather and let go. If you close it, they'll find other ways to knock themselves out." 

He watched me thoughtfully and after a while, nodded. 

"OK for the bar but only three hours a day." 

"Now tell me what makes you so fucking sure Devlin won't launch an attack?" I asked. 

"Do you think they'd take the risk? Assaulting Oz would mean killing the men on Arcturus 4, they wouldn't live longer than us and if a ship tries to rescue them, I'll just cut down the energy supplies, they will die in two hours time. I don't think Devlin will dare, that would be bad for the EMC's image. He'll negotiate." 

I didn't look very convinced; killing everybody didn't look like the best way to improve our own image but well, it was a little late to worry about that. 

"And then there's your friend… Beecher," he added. 

"Beecher? What about him?" 

Vern chuckled, his expression became thoughtful, but his eyes remained cold under heavy eyelids… "I learned interesting things about your little bitch from Earth. Did he tell you about his father and Devlin being close friends, and his wife's parents being major share-holders in the company? Doesn't that make him the perfect hostage? What do you think?" 

"Yeah, probably," I said, torn between relief and anguish. 

"Yeah probably? Come on Chris, don't play dumb with me, I know you better, it doesn't work. I'll use the guy as a go between, he'll voice our complaints and our demands, and he'd better be good at that, because I'm not feeling very patient these days," he rose and so did I, not giving away the anger I felt, "but I'm sure you'll use your skills to make him… amenable, make him understand our point of view. Turn him around." 

Amenable? From the way Toby had fought hours ago, that wouldn't be easy; it had taken two men to bring him down; win him over again would be a hell of a job and I'd already played most of my cards, I didn't have so many left, but as I took the stairs down to the hangars I kept telling myself that I could get a lot out of that one. I wanted Vern to succeed, free us from the company, take Oz over because the place was ours, no argument on that; but I wanted Beecher, I craved his touch, craved his smell, craved everything about him, I wanted to possess him, I wanted him to be mine and give up all he had to me, I wanted him to live –with me; and I didn't have a single fucking clue about the best way to make it work, so I decided I wouldn't try to plan anything, just act, trust my instinct as a hunter. 

I grabbed a gun (who knew what I'd find on my way?) and walked down. I was crossing the main hallway when the sight of a body sprawled at the bottom of the stairs jolted me back to reality. I came closer, recognised one of Vern's friends, one of those who'd dragged Beecher away and that wasn't the best new of the day; I guessed that I'd find another body nearby, which meant Toby or someone else had killed them and that Toby was free somewhere, scared, crazy and dangerous, maybe hurt. Hurt? I felt my throat go dry. I turned at the left and the other guy lay ten feet further, his throat nicely slit, his eyes wide open –not such a loss, just one of Vern's bitches, he'd sucked my cock, once- so I stepped back, listening to the stifling silence surrounding me, stunning silence after seven hours of yelling, screaming, shooting; listening to the slightest sounds I could perceive, but I heard nothing and there was nothing else to do than start to search behind every fucking door, in every corner, in the depths of shadows, and find Beecher. Alive. Jesus, Please, let him be alive and well, I'd do anything for it. 

BEECHER 

After a while, in the middle of the fight, two guys had seized me bodily and dragged me away –that was about all I could remember- and later, I'd awakened alone and free, the men were dead, slaughtered, and I was unable to recall anything about it but I assumed that someone had grabbed his chance to get rid of them, probably for personal reasons. I didn't give a damn about who and why, I was just trying to find a way to survive, and I decided to hide in a small empty room and wait, hoping that I'd be forgotten, hoping that the situation would come back to normal, which seemed pretty hopeless. I was thirsty and hungry and scared, scared of what would happen when the door would open, scared of what would happen if it didn't, and my mouth got drier as I remembered, images of the riot dancing in front of my closed eyes. 

From the very beginning of the fight, I'd felt something unknown take over –rage- and something inside me had died, the illusion of self-control, maybe, the veneer of a civilised education or whatever it was, and I'd begun to hit any man in front of me, miners, Vern's friends, bringing some of them down. But I'd been hurt and my whole body ached like hell, pain rushed everywhere, pulsing under every wound, every bruise, and I could barely breathe. 

Sitting on the cold floor, I kept thinking about Keller slaying this guard, wondering if it had been planned. At the moment I'd thought he'd just lost it, but I wasn't sure anymore, it might have been a signal, a symbol, the sign that the time had come to stop bending over and taking it, that the time had come for the miners to fight for their rights. After all Keller had never tried to disguise that he agreed with Schillinger on some points at least, the most important one being that the mine belonged to the miners and that Earth was the ultimate shelter of a decadent and spoiled race of men. 

Which game was Keller playing now? Schillinger's? His own? What would be his next move, which pawn would he try to push? Would he try to find me, or didn't he care anymore? Fuck, when I'd seen him at the door of the gym three weeks ago, I hadn't imagined I was facing a chess-player, I'd just thought he was hot. 

It had been hours, when I heard them… Footsteps in the stillness of Oz, in the silence merely broken every quarter of an hour by the soft boost of engines and at first, it was more a sensation than anything else, something creeping up my spine, shaking me, a vibration along the metallic walls, coming closer and closer. Oh no, god, no, I didn't want that to happen, maybe it was Schillinger and maybe… The footsteps stopped just in front of the door and I stopped breathing. When the door opened, I blinked to adjust the unexpected light and saw a tall silhouette standing in the threshold and it was not Vern but still I pounced and we fought in the darkness, in the silence, our breath short and after a while there was nothing else I could do but surrender, he was too strong and I was too tired. I'd thought he'd knock me out but he wrapped me in his arms instead, keeping me still, trying to calm me down with words. 

"Listen to me now…I'm gonna take you out of here, OK? It's freezing, and you're shaking. C'mon, Toby, let's get out, you'll be fine, nobody will hurt you, I swear." 

I believed him. I didn't want to, I wanted to remain cautious and wary but his touch made me give up and I had no one else to trust, no one else to lean on. 

He helped me out of the room but I was too exhausted to walk, too shocked. The place that had been crowded and noisy was now deserted, dim lights casting huge shadows onto the walls, our steps echoing through the silence endlessly. Suddenly the ground was swaying under my feet and my knees gave way under me before I could reach the elevator. I sat down, trying to clear my mind and Chris crouched in front of me, his face bruised where he'd been hurt, his eyes dark. 

"Hey, how do you feel?" 

His voice was soft and I hated him for making me feel so weak, I remembered how he'd killed that man, his feline deadly grace and I wanted to push him away but all I could do was ask, "How could you do that?" 

"Do what?" 

"Kill the guard, the one you slaughtered." 

He watched me and sighed. 

"Oh, that! I was so angry, and he was on my way, he meant nothing to me, nothing to us, nothing to anyone." 

I felt something cold creep inside me and quivered. 

"So you killed him." 

"Yeah." 

I leaned back, closing my eyes to deny that reality. 

"Him and all the others. What kind of a man are you? Killing people like that? Does human life mean nothing to you?" 

"Depends whose life. Yours does," his words sounding like evidence. 

"I don't believe you. You just played the game you were asked to play, I'm sure you'd kill me as well." 

His eyes darkened suddenly, anger flared and he let out a short angry laugh. 

"Yeah? And who are you to judge? Come here to run away from the mess that's your life, take any dirty deal from the company, work out the best way to fuck up our lives and fuck me all the same, then give me a lecture about the value of human life's? Does that make you better than me?" 

"I didn't kill anyone." 

"If I'd been forced to leave Oz, I would've died, what's the difference?" 

"That's one wicked logic, Keller." 

"That's mine; I don't think yours is much better." 

We kept silent after that, tense, watching each other like exhausted fighters. 

"Let's get you out of here first. We'll talk later," Chris said. 

"No way. I know you, I know how you intend to work it all out. That won't work. Not this time." 

He grabbed my shoulders, groaning and pushed me, pulled me up, dragged me along the corridor until I was in front of the stairs. 

"Look around. Take a fucking look around, Beecher. Do you know how long it's been since I've been in here?" he asked. 

"Keller…" 

"Twenty years. Twenty fucking years with a break every six months. I'll probably die here, or down in the mine and who cares? Do you care? Does the company care? No one cares and I'm tired of working my ass off for people like you," Keller's whisper was mesmerizing, I couldn't take my eyes off him, his mouth, his eyes, his muscles playing under his skin, "with your fancy houses, big cars, swimming pools, parties and all that shit. How long do you think you can keep me locked inside like that, fucking virtual girls in the bar? How long? Tell me?" 

He pushed me back and I stumbled on the stairs, his hands catching me before I fell. 

"Schillinger cares," he added. 

"The fuck he does! Can't you see, Chris? He doesn’t give a damn about you or anyone, the only thing he cares for is power. Only power." 

"And then what? Imagine it works, imagine he can do it, imagine this place is ours to run like we think it's the best. Does your friend Devlin has better to offer?" 

"Devlin's not my friend." 

"Oh come on, Toby, he's your father's partner, your wife's parents are his friends, who are you trying to fool?" 

He was much too near now, I could smell him, feel his breath on my cheek, his lips hovering near my mouth; I knew he would try that and I knew how that would feel, how tempting and good it would feel, but I didn't want to give in to him so easily, didn't want to be the little slut from Earth who went down to his knees for the big beautiful space man, so I pushed him away, a hand on his chest, feeling a shiver run through him, hearing him growl and we rose together, face to face. 

"What do you expect from me? What did Schillinger ask you? You're not just doing this out of lust, are you?" 

Another growl. "Nobody asked me to fuck you the first time, I did it because you looked hot, that's all." 

"Thank you, but that doesn't answer my question. What do you want from me, Keller? Just tell me. You don't need to put on that little show to have me all ears." 

He pulled away and suddenly there was nothing left on his face, no lust, no warmth, just a cold blue speculative gaze and a thoughtful expression. 

"What does he want?" 

"He wants to use you as a shield and a go-between, thinks that Devlin won't dare send his little army if your life is at stake, he believes that your family will interfere and negotiate to save your precious existence." 

He literally smacked the last two words in my face. 

"And what do *you* think?" 

He was different now, nothing left of the smooth operator I was used to, he was brutal and cold and even his voice had changed, nothing left of the lazy growl that sent shivers down my spine, now I could hear the determination. 

"I think Devlin will kill us all. That's what he'll do if he's the man I think he is. He won't give a fuck about your life or mine, and he'll find an acceptable way to explain your death to your wife who doesn't seem too crazy about you, from what you said. That's what I think. But it's worth a chance. Worth trying." 

I snorted. 

"Thanks for thinking so highly of me!" 

"You asked," he said. 

"Your friend Schillinger would kill me as well, wouldn't he?" 

"Not if I can stop him, not if you play our game." 

I didn't feel like playing at all, all I wanted was to go back to Earth, see my kids and my wife again. 

"C'mon, I'll take you to my room, you can rest there." 

I fell asleep on the upper bed and slept there for two hours, until Keller woke me up. 

"Time." 

I met Schillinger in Glynn's office, the lights were low, casting shadows on Schillinger's grim face, making him look… dead. His eyes were dead, his voice was dead, he was scary and it was like being transported into another reality, twilight zone. He explained to me in his cold way what had happened to the staff, implying that I was a fortunate guy, and that he was the one who had made the decisions, then paused, probably expecting I'd thank him. 

"Fuck you, Schillinger, you can as well send me down there." 

"Ah, Mr Beecher, don't be rude," he said, losing his smile, "Life on A4 is very precarious, anyone on Oz will tell you that. And this attitude won't take you anywhere so let me tell you this: if your company sends us their armed forces, a lot of people will be killed and I'll make sure that you are one of them. Am I being clear, Mr Beecher?" 

I nodded and the smile was back, cold and false, making him look like a ravenous crocodile but I listened to what he wanted and finally agreed to play the part I was assigned. The only thing I asked for was talking to my wife and kids to reassure them and Schillinger watched me for a while, then rose and walked past the desk to stand in front of me, arms folded, legs slightly parted. 

"Beg me," he said. 

"What? You need my help, I don't have to…" 

He cut me short, impatient. 

"Beg me, Beecher." 

"Go to hell, I'd rather die." 

I was proud of myself, proud of this little fight I was putting on, but the feeling didn't last, next thing I knew I was kneeling on the floor, Schillinger's boot on my neck, his cold voice stabbing my brain. 

"Beg me." 

"OK, OK, I beg you. PLEASE, allow me to talk to them." 

"Now that's better. Let me think…" It seemed to last for hours then the boot withdrew. "Permission granted, Mr Beecher." 

I got up to my feet, swaying a little, my face burning with shame, and stumbled outside. 

"You know, Toby, you shouldn't play those little games with him, it's dangerous," Chris' voice said behind me. 

"You were there?" 

"Of course I was. I'm your official keeper, now. Nothing happens to you out of my presence. Does it comfort you?" 

The amused tone in his voice made me want to kill him. 

"You motherfucker… You let him take me down, hurt me? Does it turn you on too?" 

He turned on his heels and gave me a long hard look, then shrugged. "Come on," he said, "it wasn't so bad, he didn't even hurt you, didn't lay a hand on you. Let's go now, we'll try to get in touch with your wife on Earth." 

I stood there stunned; watched him turn away and head for his room. 

That's what it took, facing Gen and the kids, to realise how far I was from everything or everyone I knew. Far from home, from my family and my usual self. In spite of that I tried to behave normally, asked the questions I was supposed to ask, I did it for the kids and Gen –Harry and Gary seemed pretty excited about the kind of life I was living, Gen had said nothing about the riot and the threat hanging above us but Holly… Holly kept her mouth shut and her eyes locked on her mother's hands. I don't think Gen was aware that she kept wringing her hands in worry but Holly had noticed her mother's nervousness and guessed what was left unsaid; when she spoke, her voice was shaking. 

"You're going to come back home, aren't you? We miss you." 

I nodded but couldn't speak. 

"Is somebody looking after you, up there?" 

I felt Keller's presence behind me, hidden in the shadows, heard him sigh. "Yes Honey," I said, "Someone's looking after me." 

Was it true? 

After that, I was alone with Gen and I explained my situation. She listened to me carefully, looking worn out and older, suddenly. 

"Oh God, Toby, what are we going to do?" she asked, and I noticed how pale and worried she looked, much more worried that I'd ever seen her before. I smiled at her, trying to reassure her and she smiled back, a weak little smile, trying to look brave. I should've felt love or compassion but for a second, I remembered that her stubbornness was the main reason why I was here and I felt nothing at all but I said what I was supposed to say in such circumstances. 

"I'll work it out, Gen, I promise. I'll be back soon." 

She nodded and turned to the door; I saw someone walk in and I'd never thought that Kareem Saïd's presence could mean that much to me, I'd never imagined I'd see so much affection and worry in his dark eyes, so much warmth in his smile, find so much comfort in his words. Probably not the best moment to realize what we meant to each other, how much we cared, just when it was too late and I remembered my suspiscions about Saïd and my wife, that they could be lovers. How stupid was that? Behind me, Keller shifted. I smiled to Saïd as he sat gracefully, like some exotic sovereign, his head held high, and his eyes… They were burning my soul. 

"Tobias, my friend, I'm very happy to see you alive, although I can see that those faithless men didn't spare you. I'm sorry for that. Did you fight back?" 

"Yes." 

I couldn't say if he was satisfied or not, he just nodded, but I felt proud. 

"Would you explain again what you're supposed to do?" 

I did, he listened, and then I was talking much more that I had intended to. Before the communication was broken, he leaned forward, and his eyes seemed to shine like burning coal. 

"Don't forget, my friend. Human life, all and every bit of it, is precious to God. Your main preoccupation must be to act in this purpose. I wish you well, Tobias. God will be with you during the hardships you're going through. You'll be in my prayers." 

I felt tears in my eyes and I wanted to say something but the image faded away and I just sat there until Keller called me, bringing me back to reality. 

We walked back to his room and when we were inside, the door closed, he spoke. 

"Do you fuck him too?" 

KELLER 

Later in the evening Beecher had a little chat with Devlin, telling him what we demanded, amnesty, freedom, the right to run Oz ourselves, and a sharing in the mine's profits; I was hiding there, listening, watching, making sure Toby wouldn't do or say anything stupid, wouldn't betray us, but he did good, a very convincing sacrificial lamb, thinner than when he'd arrived 3 weeks earlier, looking weary, his voice breaking sometimes in the middle of a sentence… Yeah, he was perfect. Devlin though didn't seem convinced that sparing our sorry lives would bring him any advantage –I could understand that- but it sounded obvious to me that he was concerned with Beecher, in spite of what had happened and that Schillinger had been right. Maybe Gen's parents, Gen herself, had found the right words, maybe Toby's death would be something rather difficult to explain, a failure for the company, added to the death of the rest of the staff. 

After that we didn't talk much, I didn't try to approach him –not in the way I had before. I couldn't help thinking about that man, Saïd, I felt angry and jealous but when I asked Toby if they'd fucked, he stepped back, and gave me an offended look. 

"No. Of course not. Do you ever stop to think about sex, sometimes?" 

"Not when it's about you, Beecher. You seem very eager for comfort, any kind of comfort, from anybody." 

Toby gave me that "don't be stupidly stubborn" look and said, "He's just a friend." 

"He didn't look at you like a friend, he fucking well looked like a lover to me." 

He sighed, threw his hair back, watching the ceiling. 

"Look, Keller, this … bond between us, this friendship, it's purely spiritual…" 

"My ass!" 

"Saïd is a believer, he's a guru, he considers me as… as a follower. There's nothing sexual about it." 

"A follower? Is it what you are?" 

"My wife is, and he considers me as part of his sect because I'm her husband. But I'm not; in fact I don't believe in any god." 

I looked at him and the picture was quite clear now: stroked the right way, mind or body, Tobias Beecher would surrender to anyone, love anyone, anyone who'd be kind to him, period, and I didn't like that, didn't like the idea that I probably shared him with many others and in particular Kareem Saïd. He was meant to be mine, I thought stubbornly, only mine. 

"I'm a Christian," I said, "I'm a catholic and I've known some people who considered me as a disciple and who cared for, let's say, my spiritual life, and none of them, absolutely none ever watched me like that man… Saïd… did." 

"Does that include Vern Schillinger? Because he sure as hell *is* a guru, and he sure as hell looks at you *that* way." 

Arrogant bastard. I glared at him and didn't say anything else, eventually left him there, locking the door, protecting him against any unwanted intrusion, although he seemed to think I was imprisoning him in this tiny room which looked so much like a cell, and went down to the bar to meet my friends. Maybe I'd find someone to fuck, there. Schillinger had cut the energy supplies very low, which meant no more porn cabins, no more virtual girls, but there were still men there, some of them young and attractive and if Tobias Beecher didn't want to fuck me because I couldn't live it up to his moral standards, some others were quite happy to take my dick up their ass. 

When I stumbled back inside the room, he was huddled up on his bed against the wall, looking pretty lost. Oh fuck, I couldn't stand the way he looked and all the alcohol and sex induced drunkenness vanished. 

"Need anything?" I asked as gently as I could. 

"No, thanks." 

Huh, huh, where was the cocky Tobias Beecher gone? 

"Do you think it will work? That Devlin will agree to negociate?" 

"Hey, you're the one who knows him. What do you think?" 

He shook his head. "I don't know. I met him once or twice years ago, I don't think he even remembered me before I fucked it all up, so… If I was him…" 

"Hey, hey, you're not him, OK? Now let's get some sleep." 

I thought maybe he expected me to jump him, but that wouldn't happen, not that night, I would make him wait, I was tired of making the first move. This time, Tobias Beecher from Earth would have to overcome his pride and ask for it. 

I heard him shift in his bed for a long time and fell asleep before he did. In the morning he looked like shit but I didn't feel any guilt, just the sweet taste of triumph and that nice feeling lasted until I looked through the window in the meeting room. 

"Oh God!" Toby muttered, taking a step back. 

"Yeah. Nice view, huh?" 

That was unusual and frightening. In front of the station, deployed between A4 and Oz, a dozen ships, silver birds, giant wasps were poised on the edge of an attack, enlightened by the orange halo emanating from the planet. The company's private mercenaries. 

I heard Vern's voice from behind, talking to Toby. 

"Looks like your friend Devlin likes to display his power." 

"I take it he refused to negotiate," Toby said, leaning forward and pressing his palms against the window. 

"Not really. He did accept but he set out some conditions, your freedom being the most important one. Of course we refused." 

He turned to Vern, eyes narrowed. 

"'we' refused?" 

"Yes, Beecher, we held a general assembly early this morning and we voted against your release. Unanimously." 

"Thank you so much for that!" Toby snarled, turning to him, then to me. 

"You're welcome. We need you here and we wouldn't want to lose you. I'm sure Keller would hate that." 

Vern gave me a wicked smile and I hated him with all my heart. "So instead of you we proposed to send them back the medical staff." 

"Did they agree?" 

"That we don't know yet. But obviously, they're putting us under pressure and that's something I don't like." 

"What do you expect? Do you expect them to let you run this place and create some… independent state on Oz? Do you know who you're dealing with, exactly? Devlin is the nastiest bastard I ever heard about; he won't let you get out of here alive. He'll find a way to fuck up any plan you could have." 

Vern gave him an amused glance. 

"Well, Mr Beecher, looks like we have more in common than we thought. This is another reason why I won't let you go, because of this… intimate knowledge of the company. If we succeed, you'll succeed. If we die, you'll die. Does that make sense?" 

He didn't wait for any answer, just turned away and walked out, leaving us there gazing outside. 

"I hate him. I could kill him," Toby said softly, "how can you stand him?" 

"Do I have a choice?" I asked, suddenly struck by the bitterness in my voice and realizing how tired I was of all that shit. I wanted to be back down, in the depth of the mine, alone, surrounded by the ore shining through the darkness, lit up by the light of my safety lamp. I rested my hands on his shoulders and he didn't push me away. 

"Do you think they will attack?" he asked. 

"I don't know." 

On the same day, Saïd's sect called for a special prayer, begging their God to shed some light into the overheated minds of the people on Oz and into the air-conditioned offices at the top of the EMC building in New York; all over Earth people assembled in parks and kneeled to pray, in front of the cameras, and Saïd was asked several questions about Toby and the company and the mine, answering each of them with a mix of passion and wisdom… I hated him, hated the way Toby watched him. 

A few hours later Mother Pete Marie gathered everyone inside our huge cathedral in the center of Mars3 and spoke for two hours, describing in her own words the miners' miserable lot, reminding that Christ had fought and died for those who suffered, refusing to blame us too hardly for the deaths, because according to her we'd been pushed to the limits of our endurance; listing the numerous ordeals that we had to go through. Jesus, she was one hell of a woman, I was sure she was directly talking to me more than once. This speech delivered in front of thousands people, all of them having a son, a husband, a father, a member of their family working for the company had a huge impact all over the new world and during the whole day, Mars3 experienced the worst riots of its existence, forcing Devlin to promise publicly that he wouldn’t attack. 

The Miners' General Trade Union, though, kept an astonishing silence. I didn’t like that; it appeared to me that maybe Schillinger had caught everyone off guard and that the Trade Union didn't know how to react. 

But who cared? We were still alive. 

In order to show some goodwill, Vern decided to free 20 members of the staff, but Glynn, Mc Manus, Murphy and some others were kept as hostages, taken back to Oz and locked in a warehouse of the lower floor. Vern allowed me to keep Toby in my room, I'd insisted on that, using every possible means to convince him –even getting on my knees again wasn't too much. I can't say that earned me a lot of gratitude from Toby, but any good hunter knows the importance of being persistent. 

"Hey, see the bright side of things, Toby, you'll be a hero!" 

Much later in the evening, we were sitting in the bar among the crowd of miners, celebrating, drinking some dubious booze they called whisky there and I could see Toby's look roam over the place, taking in every detail, careful not to stare to the men's face, aware that they would take it as a provocation. 

"How comforting!" he said, snorting and watching me, "But you know, being a dead hero doesn't look so appealing, I'd rather be an ordinary and very alive guy." 

The bar was unusually quiet, I could feel the tension, the guys were talking, heads bowed, arguing. 

"Is there anyone here to say that Schillinger is crazy?" 

"Some of them may think it but what's the alternative? We're trapped here and he's the best chance we have." 

He shook his head. 

"I can't believe that. You'd do much better." 

I felt stupidly proud at that and I was about to answer something when a shadow fell between us and fuck, fuck, fuck, O'Reilly was the last one I felt like talking to right then, but of course he ignored my glare and sat down between us. 

"I've been thinking of something," he said, "we should have someone from the Earth TV channels having a little chat with you, Beecher." 

"Yeah? We'll talk about that later, O'Reilly," I snarled, giving the guy my most dangerous smile. 

"Hey, K'boy, there might be no better opportunity. Listen, we call some hack-writer from Earth, tell him that our hostage's ready to testify about how we live up here… We need some popular support." 

Just by the way he looked at O'Reilly, I could say that Beecher was interested. 

"Do you think so? I know a few people in the media, old friends from the university, some of them work on the galactic channels… guess they'd like a bit of a scoop." 

"Hey, great! You give'em a call, and that does it!" 

Beecher's eyes were sparkling as they talked about it some more and at the moment, I felt like killing anyone who managed to keep Beecher interested. 

"Yeah, and what about re-opening the mine? I get bored here," I said, "and anyway, I think we need to show our willingness… Show the bitches from the company we're real men, workers, more than they'll ever be, and that we deserve to run the place more than they do." 

Beecher glared at me. 

"I didn't think you were getting so bored," he said in a tight voice. 

"Yeah, well, there are not a lot of things to do on Oz. And since I can't get what I want I could as well go back to work, ya know." 

O'Reilly gave us a measuring look and rose to leave, his usual grin giving nothing away. 

"OK, I see the two of you got some stuff to discuss, so I'll just let you. We'll talk tomorrow, Beecher." 

"Yeah," I said, "if we're still alive. I don't trust Devlin that much." 

"Not very positive, huh, K'boy? You should relax, we're not dead yet. See ya later, maybe." 

"So you're bored." 

Toby sounded pissed off. 

"Yeah." 

"Am I supposed to keep you entertained? Fuck that!" 

And suddenly, I just couldn't stand it anymore. 

"And fuck you, how long are you gonna play this game, you bitch, what do you think you're doing, keeping me waiting like that, playing hard to get? Do you think we can afford this, teasing each other, pretending to ignore how much we want each other, fucking with each other's mind? We're not in some fucking club of yours, we're on Oz and from what I understand, nobody would bet a single buck on our sorry lives! Wake up, Toby!" 

He watched me, stunned, opened his mouth and shook his head again. 

"I can't believe that. It's still about sex, isn't it? God, don't you ever happen to think about something else?" 

I rose and my chair fell. I was so angry, I think I could've hit him. 

"Yeah, you know, I'm just a slug… Don't have much of a brain, everyone knows that." 

I'd reached the elevator when he grabbed me from behind, caught my arm. 

"Wait, wait, wait," he said, breathless, "I didn't mean that." 

I pushed him away roughly, my eyes burning. 

"Leave me the fuck alone. Find yourself someone else, someone who matches your intellectual standards, I'm gonna jerk off in the toilets, that'll be OK." 

He pushed me inside the elevator, shoved me against the door. 

"I don't think so," he said with a smile, and then he kissed me. 

Maybe I could give him a second chance, after all. I pushed him away slightly, catching my breath. 

"Hey, stop that, Toby. If you keep this up, we won't even make it to my room." 

BEECHER

We'd collapsed on the bed after sex, exhausted. Oh God that had been the best fuck I'd ever had, kind of stuff you only dream about, tender and rough, soft and hard, our bodies sealed by pleasure, and love and Keller's tireless quest for more. We'd fallen asleep all sticky and wet; Chris' body spooned around mine, his hand wrapped possessively around my spent cock, his dick half hard against my ass when they knocked on the door. Chris' body tensed. 

"Hey, K'boy, open the door, the guys and us we have to talk to you." 

Chris jumped off the bed, pulling the covers over me. "Don't move," he said before walking to the door, unlocking it, letting the visitors in. Stark naked, Chris watched them one by one and sighed. 

"OK, I'll dress if you don't mind," he said, putting down the gun I hadn't even seen him grab and putting on his clothes, cool and detached under the men's patient look. 

"OK, so what is this all about?" 

"Yeah, well, we've been talking," a younger guy said. 

"Talking? I know a better use for your mouth, Ronnie boy," Chris snarled back and the guy grinned and blushed. 

"Most of the men are not sure that Vern's making the right choice. The confrontation, the violence... They think he's leading us to a disaster, and nobody here feels like becoming a martyr. Most of us don't wanna go on." 

Chris sat down on the edge of the bed and I crawled back against the wall, in the shadows, listening. 

"Most of us? What does that mean?" 

"I think…" 

"No!" Keller's voice was cold and hard. "No you don't just "think", O'Reilly, or you're out of here. I want some certainties to hold on to." 

O'Reilly nodded and raised a hand. 

"I'd say 80 % of the guys want to negotiate. We have to get rid of Schillinger." 

"Kill him?" 

"Yeah, kill him, if we don't have any other choice. I don't think we have." 

I could hear Chris' breath, slow and quiet, as he thought the situation over. 

"We have to do it fast," O'Reilly added. 

"Devlin will launch his attack as soon as he knows about it." 

"Maybe not," a black guy said, "maybe we could use your… friend… some more. Like Schillinger wanted to. To protect us." 

Chris didn't answer, I couldn't see his eyes, he had his back to me. "And what about the Trade Union? What do they think about all that?" he asked. 

"I talked to one of the guys in the high spheres on Earth" O'Reilly said, "He was a bit… stunned and worried by Schillinger's behaviour, he told me that had nothing to do with them, they were just backing Vern because he's a member of the syndicate, but from what I understood, they're pretty mad at him. If you take the lead, he'll talk to Devlin." 

"Sure," Chris' voice was low and thoughtful, "Promises are easy to make. I don't trust the Trade Union, Schillinger's death could make a martyr out of him. Good for the fucking MGTU." 

"But if we let Vern free to lead the thing, we're guaranteed to die, and your guy, Beecher, first of all." 

"Yeah, and you shortly after, Adebisi." 

"I don't fear death." 

"So why don't you follow Vern?" 

"Because I was born on Earth," the man said in the same arrogant voice. 

Chris nodded. 

"OK, let me think about that for a while." 

When we were alone he turned to me. 

"You'll have to talk to Devlin. Find a way to make him wait." 

"Chris, you're not going to…" 

"Yes I am. They're right and I won't let Vern fuck up my life once more." 

"Why you? Why don't they get rid of Schillinger themselves?" 

"Because they trust me, because they know I can come near Schillinger, near enough to kill him." 

He pulled me into his arms and kissed me. "Listen Toby, there's something I wanna tell you…If I fail, I want you to remember… I love you." 

"I love you, Chris." 

We stood like that for a while, drinking in each other's warmth and scent, locked in each other's embrace. 

I saw O'Reilly at the door, waiting, silent. 

"Go with him, Toby. Try and contact everyone you can on Earth… Journalists, Devlin, your friend Saïd… We'll need all the help we can get." 

I nodded. 

"No weapon?" I asked and he smiled. 

"I won't need any." 

He took three steps to the door and turned to me once more. 

"Remember what you asked once? As soon as this is over, I'll take you to the green house and fuck you silly." 

He smiled and I watched him walk away through the corridors of Oz with the heartbreaking feeling I'd never see him again. 


	5. Chapter 5

** BEECHER **

**There was nothing left. Of the moment of complete euphoria that had led the minors to the riot, of Vern's dream, there was nothing left, and it didn't matter much if he was still alive or not, it was only a matter of time now before the whole place was cleared of its liabilities and turned into some desert useless tin can floating in space.**

**In some way Devlin had succeeded, I had succeeded, Oz was dead.**

**It was 4:15 in the morning and I was leaning against the window in the communication room, watching stubbornly outside where there was nothing to be seen. It was a strange sensation; on Earth, wherever I'd been, even in the most lonely place in the middle of nowhere, I could still give a look around and actually see something, but here there was nothing, not a move, just the stars scattered darkness, and after the first thrill of excitement it was just scaring, like a foretaste of death and I would've given a lot for a tree, a leaf moving under a soft breeze, anything alive.**

**The threat was still hanging, but the ships were gone; on Mars3 the situation was quickly getting out of hand; the new world was now casting off the yoke, demanding freedom, independence, and Earth was taken off guard, unable to find the right answer. We'd taken all that for granted, a poor colony lost in space, a useful place where people had no other hope than working for the big rich planet. We thought we owned them, we thought they owed us for the few they had, didn't understand why they weren't grateful. Didn't history teach us anything, didn't we know yet that sooner or later slaves get rid of their chains? People who thought they held the power, politics and real leaders, big boss of the Earth major companies had been holding a long and fruitless meeting; and Mr John Arrow, president of the United Earth Council, a dumb little warmonger who considered what happened on Mars3 like some slaves' riot that had to be quelled with much bloodshed was an enthusiastic supporter for a forceful armed intervention.**

**Come on, Mr Arrow, I was thinking from my lonely little prison lost into space, what's the use? You're gonna kill the leaders, kill innocent people, make a martyr out of that priest Keller seems to admire so much and then what? Mars3's very far from Earth, it's been a long time now since our roads have parted and it's a question of time before Earth loses the long haul fight –Set them free!**

**That's what I was brooding on, then, blinking against the orange glow of A4; I felt dirty and exhausted, I'd spent the whole night talking with Devlin, and Saïd, and Gen, Devlin again and other big shots inside the EMC but Oz2231 had lost its prior importance, now, and the only answer I'd got was "If you manage to set everyone free and get us rid from this fuck Schillinger, I'll let everybody go, close the mine and forget about all this shit."**

**I'd never heard Devlin speak so freely before, he promised he'd call the trade union as soon as possible, told me he had a flight to take to Cairo where the Earth Government had settled down that year and hung up.**

**Working had kept my mind from worrying but now I couldn't stand the wait; I was ready to go looking for Keller when I heard footsteps behind me; two arms circled me, pulled me against a naked chest.**

**"Good morning, Earth man."**

**I didn't move, just closed my eyes and leant back, hoping to melt into that body, become part of it.**

**"How did it go?"**

**"Fine, just fine." But his voice was shaking, hell, he was shaking and I turned in his arms to watch him.**

**Christ.**

**His eyes were darker than the space outside, grim and cold, the smile on his face hid less than it showed –repulsion, sadness, disgust.**

**"It's OK, he's dead. Hell, they're all dead." he sighed and wiped his sweaty face with his hand, "I'm afraid my seat in heaven was just cancelled."**

**"Hey, I'll intercede, I'm good at that."**

**He tried a weary smile. Could he really be afraid for his soul? Fuck, most of the people I knew didn't even believe they had one.**

**"Did you talk to Devlin?"**

**"Yes, look, the ships are gone, he promised he'd let us go."**

**"Us? Since when are you part of us, Beecher?"**

**"I'm here, so..."**

**He nodded, looking so defeated that I wanted to hug him tight and not let go, I saw blood on his shirt, he'd been hurt –one more scar to kiss, one more wound to heal.**

**"I talked to Ryan O'Reily", he said, "they mined the pit down on A4…"**

**"They went down?"**

**"No, of course not, they sent an automatic shuttle stuffed with explosives just in case we got fucked in the ass by the Company; make sure they can't get the mine back, cause a maximum of damages. Now listen, we both are gonna leave right now."**

**I frowned.**

**"What?"**

**"No more questions, c'mon."**

** Keller  **

**Let's admit I lied to him, let's admit things didn't go so well. I'd killed Vern all right and some of his nice good old friends –Robson first, of course, with my bare hands, a real treat. I hadn't gone there alone, some of the most vicious slugs of the place, well, guys like me, had come to help and the job was done in a matter of minutes, dead bodies sent out in the darkness without a word. I lost a friend in the fight but the sight of a dead Vern was worth the sacrifice and the look in O'Reilly's eyes was priceless too when we shook hands.**

**"What about the staff?" One of the guys asked. Blood is a powerful drug, and I didn't want to bother with useless lives, people I owed nothing, people who'd always treated me like I was nothing, well, they were nothing to me and what was done, was done; I just hoped the foul taste in my mouth would vanish but after that it was good to lean against Beecher's body, feel those square hands run along my back to soothe the pain, calm the shaking.**

**"Listen," I said, "we gotta leave now."**

**The hands stilled, he stepped back. "What?"**

**"Yeah, Mars3 sent us a shuttle, it's waiting. Come on, leave your stuff behind and let's go, I want to be far from here when the men of the company arrive; it's not that I don't believe in your skills as a negotiator, Beecher, but I know how vicious those people are; I don't trust them."**

**/And I know how they'll react when the find the whole staff dead on the first level /**

**"Look, it's not…"**

**I grabbed him by his shirt. "No. No, not now, we'll talk later. Look there's a lot of danger, bad stuff going on."**

**I read in his eyes that he doubted me, that he wanted to know. From the door, O'Reilly's voice called us.**

**"C'mon, guys, let's go, we're about to leave."**

**I turned to Toby.**

**" Beecher , please!"**

**"No, I'll stay, I don't take any risk by staying, I…"**

**A brief look at O'Reilly and I knew what I had to do.**

**He woke up an hour later in the belly of a big old ship, among other men, tried to sit down and failed. I helped him up.**

**"Sorry, Beecher , I couldn't leave you behind, if anything had happened…"**

**He glared at me, rubbing his chin, "Fuck you! Where are we going?"**

**"Mars3. Home, at least for us; from there we'll send you back to Earth."**

**He snorted. "Yeah? From what I heard, things don't go so well between our worlds!"**

**"Mother Peter Marie will find a way," I said, hoping I was right.**

**BEECHER **

**"Mother Peter Marie will find a way," he said and I heard something like a childish faith in his voice that shut me up. I was too tired, anyway and in a metallic wall I caught a glimpse of my face, black eyed, a bruise on my jaw. I sighed.**

**"You're a goddamn liar, Keller, son of a bitch." I growled against his ear. We were sitting side by side on metallic benches.**

**"What?"**

**"Yeah, what about the long hard fuck in the green house you'd promised?"**

**He opened his mouth to answer but suddenly the ship was shaken like a boat in the eve of a storm and some of us fell on the floor. I turned to look through the window, afraid that we'd been attacked, afraid that the company had changed its mind but what I saw, I'll never forget.**

**Far behind us something was exploding, something big and red, swirling flames spurting out from its heart, running to us like tentacles trying to catch us and take us back, swallow us.**

**"What the fuck…"**

**"How far from the vortex?" Chris tight voice asked and O'Reily quietly answered "close enough."**

**A swirling tongue of fire seemed about to lick the fuselage of the shuttle; it was hot inside, suddenly, when I felt it in my guts, the sudden acceleration, the shock inside my belly, my brain shutting up as the vortex swallowed us, throwing our spaceship through its maze and spitting it out on the other side like some indigestible food.**

**The guys rose suddenly, yelling in triumph, laughing, hugging each others, I saw Chris' strained smile and in front of us Ryan O'Reilly smiled back and nodded.**

**"Great job, K'boy. With a little luck, the explosion wiped out the company's ships too."**

**After that it was chaos. Everybody wanted to touch Chris, hug him, kiss him –Hell I thought one of them was going to suck him off right there and I watched, stunned, the birth of a hero. He didn't look too proud, actually, just shaking hands and smiling and I felt like I was in the way so I crossed the room and left to stand in a little corridor that separated us from the cockpit, unable to tear my eyes away from the terrifying sight of Oz 2231 and A4 merging in a gigantic ball of fire, devouring everything around them, and I wondered if Pdt Arrow had the slightest idea of how far those men were ready to go, how hard they were determined to fight.**

**"Hey, are you OK?"**

**He was behind me, worried.**

**"Yeah, I guess. Thank you. For letting me into the plan, you know?"**

**He smiled, a shy lovable smile, god I was lost.**

**"I wasn't sure you'd approve. I wasn't sure you wouldn't tell Saïd."**

**"Ah, it's still about Saïd's dick, then?"**

**"Look, I'm not sure it's the right moment for a fight," he said, and he was right so I pushed the metallic door with my foot and pulled him to me.**

**"And you didn't do what you'd promised."**

**"About the Greenhouse."**

**"Yeah."**

**He sighed and kissed me.**

**"You self absorbed bastard... I was busy saving our lives, mine, my friends' and yours and fucking looked a bit trifling at the moment. Of course, right now," he said, his mouth and his stubbly cheek raising goose bumps on my skin, making me moan, "right now I don't think I can't put my mind to anything else."**

**I wanted to be strong, ask why "saving our lives" didn't include the staff's lives, how many more people had died, Glynn and McManus and Murphy, show some disapproval and how the hell would the company react but I realized I didn't really care as he pulled my pants open, lifted my shirt and began kissing me, coming to his knees to take my cock into his mouth and suck it, his hands roaming over my belly.**

**"What if someone comes in?" I said, clenching my fists along my body. He let go of my cock and laughed.**

**"No one will. And anyway I deserve it and so do you. Now close your eyes and listen; you can hear the birds."**

**All I could hear were the men singing behind me in the other room, probably celebrating with booze and drugs and the soft murmur coming from the cockpit but if I closed my eyes tight enough, then, yes, I could hear them and when he took my dick deeper into his throat it was like a choral of birds and I moaned, begged, and came, crazy with pleasure. When I was able to see again, he was facing me, growling, licking his lips, eyes half closed.**

**"My turn," he said and pushed me against the wall, yanked down his jeans and took a bottle of something which looked like beer from his back pocket and said "Sorry, got nothing better."**

**"Jesus, tell me about improvisation, I feel like I'm sixteen again."**

**He took a sip, handed me the bottle and kissed my neck, my jaw and my shoulders while I was drinking, before stopping me.**

**"Hey, hey, leave me some, OK?"**

**I saw his mischievous smile as he turned me around.**

**"Mr Beecher I welcome you in the rough and manly world of miners. This is your christening."**

**Turning my head, I saw him shake the bottle and place his thumb against the opening. Oh no, I thought, not that but before I could move I fell the cold neck against my asshole and beer or whatever it was spurt out inside me; the bottle fell on the floor and Chris was inside me, filling me, breathless.**

**"Jesus fucking Christ, I love you Toby, I do," and he began thrusting, slow deep thrusts, making me shiver from head to toes, taking my breath away, and then he picked a rhythm, faster, and faster, and faster, until every thrust pushed me hard against the cold metallic wall; I kept my eyes open to see the stars surrounding us, the darkness, until I couldn't stand it anymore, his fingers pinching my nipples, his teeth in my neck.**

**"Come, Toby, come" and I came, sagging against the wall but he was there to hold me, my hero, my hero with so much blood on his hands, coming inside me, laughing, roaring, a wild animal hidden inside a man and when it was over he took off his shirt and cleaned me, cleaned the floor.**

**"A bit messy, but fun," he said and I had to wonder if that was some initiation rite and how many before me had gone through it but after that he kissed me deeply and I forgot.**

**"I heard the birds," I said.**

** Keller  **

**Yes, fucking Beecher that day was good, like sunshine in the middle of a storm, but soon reality took over…**

**We met Sister Pete in the cathedral, the floor scattered with multi-coloured light, the smell of incense, enjoying the fresh quietness in the middle of the hot and noisy city. She hugged me like a friend, shook Toby's hand enthusiastically and watched us both with an understanding smile. We talked for a while about what had happened, at least part of it, sitting in the little office behind the choir and she promised to pray for me and the people who'd died, lectured me about the value of human life and I didn’t miss the smug little smile on Toby's lips.**

**"Sister, we have to send him back to Earth before things become worse."**

**"Ah" she said, "Arrow's last speech has been quite threatening, from what I heard, we could have an army sent against us, bring us back to reason."**

**" Toby doesn't belong here, he's got kids on Earth and a wife."**

**She sighed. "You're right, Chris. I think that soon we'll have hostile manifestations against anything or anyone related to Earth. Mr Beecher, you have to leave as soon as possible. I'm sure we can find a ship…"**

**He didn't listen to her.**

**" which means I won't see you again," he said.**

**Mother Pete stopped, frowned.**

**"Mr Beecher…"**

**"I won't see you again Chris, and I will wonder everyday if you're alive or dead," his voice was trembling "please come with me. Earth is a beautiful world, you'll love it, you deserve more than what you've got here."**

**"This is my world and I'd be unable to live anywhere else."**

**He shook his head, vehement, "How do you know? You never saw anything else!"**

**"No! Don't, Toby!"**

**I hoped he would understand but he had that stubborn look which meant that he didn't and I tried to explain.**

**"If I leave with you, Toby, who will I be? D'ya want me to be some backstreet lover, spend a few hours together after work, before going home with your wife and kids? I'm no one on Earth, no job, no friends, being your lover isn't enough."**

**He looked hurt.**

**"Please!"**

**"No! Would you stay here?"**

**"I can't!"**

**"See?"**

**Mother Pete had stepped back to give us some privacy, but O'Reily was already at the door, waving at us and we had to leave. Toby looked exhausted and nervous; during the trip, he kept his eyes on the floor, sometimes watching the sky above us, the orange-red sky of Mars3 crossed with dry lightning, dark yellow clouds playing before the sun; I slipped an arm around his shoulders, holding him tight as the old vehicle jolted on the road across the devastated landscapes where the fights had taken place, only rocks and red earth, skinny bushes darting their naked branches to the dry sky, begging for some rain to wipe away the dust and the blood, and behind us the city build with the red rock of Mars3.**

**An hour later we were standing near the shuttle which (that?) would take Toby away from me.**

**"I won't forget you, Toby."**

**"I don't give a damn about that," he said "you can as well forget me, a memory's not enough to me, it's you I want, the real Chris, your body, your voice, your eyes…"**

**"Stop this, you're only making things worse, isn't it hard enough already? Don't spoil everything!"**

**He sagged against me, hugged me and I hugged him back, my heart tearing up, and we kissed until Sister Pete cleared her throat.**

**"It's time gentlemen," she said softly and I stepped back, pushing Toby away, watching him hesitate, wanting to take it all back and keep him there, chain him to my bed and never let him go but I felt Mother Pete's hand on my arm, soothing me, pulling me back... We kept eye contact as long as we could but came a moment when I lost him so I just turned away and left.**

**It was over. I was dead inside.**

**As an ardent supporter of the revolution, I fought to snatch our world from the Earthmen's claws and we won; but after that, same old stuff, rich guys, corrupted guys confiscated the power and the time for fighting was gone.**

**I felt sick and tired of those useless struggles. Independence and then what? We were poorer than before, the unemployment rate had reached unknown levels and some guys I knew were thinking of moving to Earth –wasn't that ironic?**

**Sister Pete had been the moral leader of the fight but when it was over, she declined the offer of becoming a political leader, her life belonged to God, that's what she said; her attitude disappointed me, it looked like a desertion, and we spent a long time trying to make her change her mind; but her resolution didn't waver; she wouldn't accept any official mission. Later, I learned that the very righteous Kareem Saïd hadn't been that virtuous, he'd accepted a job in the new government and abandoned the direction of his Church to one of his friend, pretending he'd be more useful that way.**

**Bullshit, I can recognize the call of power and Saïd had been seduced by it like the others… Our Pete Marie was different.**

**Anyway I found a second rate job in a gypsum quarry. Since Gypsum had become a component in the boosters of intergalactic spaceships, its price had increased tenfold and the quarries were looking for workers; but the job was boring, my life was boring. I'd been hurt in a landslip six months ago and I was too fucking bold, too touchy, I couldn't stand any authority. I decided to leave before they fired me and O'Reily left with me, later some others joined us; we roamed for a whole year across the galaxy looking for an employment, two months here, 3 weeks there, blowing our cash with hustlers and booze in bars, fighting, fucking and that was the hell of a good life, free of any authority, any restraint.**

**I realize it now, in spite of what I'd told Beecher , Mars3 was never our home, not really, we belonged to our work, to the mine, to the constant growl of spaceships taking us from one place to another, to the space stations, closed places in an infinite loneliness, space gypsies, that's how O'Reily called us.**

**But I missed Beecher and sometimes, lying on a dirty bed beside a warm body, male or female, I closed my eyes and pretended Toby was here with me. Yeah. How stupid was that?**

**On a spatial station devoted to gambling –that was O'Reily's forte- the rumour reached us. It had spread its golden wings from Earth to that miserable place, embellished and polished like a jewel. The Company, a guy told us, had found somewhere far on the borders of the galaxy a planet where ore was the purest stuff ever seen, its glowing intoxicating, its fire sparkling in the dark like no others and the story said that the company was looking for miners to work there, that the wages were higher than anywhere else and the job more dangerous that any other job.**

**"I don't believe it," O'Reily told me "It's one of those old wives' tales every doddering miner tells his grand' children; a fairy tale."**

**He was probably right but something inside me still wanted to believe; I tried to learn more and a guard on a merchant ship told me that the company had sent men all across the universe, headhunting miners for the job; he gave me a name and an address on a colony near Venus2. I couldn't go to Earth, my life was at stake there, but a merchant colony was safe enough… Fuck, I'd been the best miner on Oz; at the time, I hadn't given a fuck about that but now I missed my job; that life we had, as sweet and adventurous as it could be, it didn't satisfy me. I missed the mine, O'Reily missed the mine, our friends missed the mine, even Miguel Alvarez, half-crazy as he was, missed it too; so one day we gathered our money and boarded the first ship to ADL3543 where the guy from the company was supposed to be.**

** BEECHER  **

**I was sitting in a huge armchair, listening to the man sitting in front of me.**

**"What do you think about that? Do you know any of these guys? Did you meet any of them when you were on … How did you call it?"**

**"Oz."**

**"Yes, Oz, strange ironic name, I suppose. I've been told that among those people were the best miners of the whole galaxy. If it's true, then I want them, I want them to work on our new mining station, I want the best of them to run it."**

**Devlin had been fired and a month later he'd died in a very strange accident, many of us suspected he'd been killed, he'd become a very unpopular man; since his death, the alliances had changed, the new directors of the Earth Mining Company had fired most of Devlin's friends; they had dragged me out of the boring little firm where I was doing a mindless job and thrown me into Alvah Case's office; I was sitting in front of the big boss, his dark eyes looking deep into mine.**

**"I know who you are and where you've been, Mr Beecher, and I know that you were close to some of those men; I am interested in your opinion. I'm ready to forget and forgive a lot about your responsibility in the disaster that ruined Arcturus3 if you help me making this new mine the most profitable one the company ever opened, build a new team, give the whole place a start, find someone to run it; stay there for a while, long enough to make sure that we're not taking any risk. Would you do that?"**

**I didn't answer, reading the names on the list. Most of them unknown, but some of them… Among the last candidates 10 men had applied three weeks ago and waited for an answer. I read the names again and again, took a deep breath, and raised my head, trying to brace me for what was to come, hoping it wasn't some kind of trap I was running into headfirst.**

**"I know some of them."**

**"Good miners?"**

**"Yes. They were."**

**"Dangerous?"**

**"If you let them do the job the way they want to do it, and pay them enough, offer them… distractions, well, danger can be kept at an tolerable level. I mean… they're no choirboys, anyway."**

**"I don't need choirboys, Mr Beecher, I need tough men, men who're not afraid to risk their lives, men who know the job, and other men to keep them … quiet."**

**"Take those, then."**

**Alvah Case agreed, shaking his massive head, and I felt like I could trust him; he seemed to trust me or maybe it was just a trick but I didn't think so; when the shareholders of the EMC had fired Devlin they'd looked for someone different, someone who wasn't solely guided by his own ambition, someone who cared about the public good; Case had been a lawyer, a teacher in University, he was known as a brilliant, broad-minded man, and honest, born from a very poor family, a tireless worker, a smart negotiator and I was beginning to feel the magnetism, the sympathy he inspired; something that felt like Saïd's charisma.**

**"I can't recruit any miners from Earth; they would ask to come back twice a year and the mine's too far to allow such fantasies, I'm looking for men able to spend two years up there in the middle of nowhere and in a scary place, able to work 1 mile under a frozen ground without freaking out; in exchange of what I will turn a blind eye to the past, pay them like kings and choose one of them to run the place, someone they will obey without any discussion.**

**I gave another look at the list and took a deep breath.**

**"Him. Chris Keller; he's the best one, the best miner, a respected one."**

**A feared one, I added silently. A dangerous one.**

**Alvah Case smiled. "Why did I think you'd say this?"**

**I managed not to blush too obviously and smiled back.**

**"All right, go get him and make a deal; then I want to meet him; but not on Earth, I don't want anyone to know that I'm recruiting cold-blooded killers to run the new mine. Officially, you'll be the only manager, for a while at least."**

**When I walked out of his office two hours later, I was shaking with excitement and my heart was beating so loud I thought every one could hear it.**

**Gen and Saïd were horrified. Two years away, in such a place… Gen cried, yelled at me; I'd nearly died the first time, what was I looking for, what did it mean, abandoning my family for two years? How could I be so ungrateful?**

**"If I succeed," I said, "Case will make me one of the directors of the EMC."**

**That shut her and my father up in the end; I hoped I sounded enthusiastic; actually I didn't give a damn about my career, the only thing I was thinking of was, Jesus, Jesus, I was going to see Keller again.**

**I could fool anyone, my family, my wife, my friends, but I couldn't fool Saïd.**

**"So? Running away once more? What are you looking for? Or maybe who?"**

**"Nobody. It can be an interesting experience."**

**"Tobias, you can't lie to me. It looks to me that you met someone on Oz 4 years ago, and that you're yearning after this person; I hope he's not the one I fear he is; I pray that we're only talking about a deep friendship here but I can't ignore that you've been somewhat… indifferent to us all since you came back; I understand that the experience changed you, but the way it changed you worries me."**

**We were facing each other in the hall of the airport; a private shuttle was waiting for me; I was about to leave for a trip that I would spend asleep most of the time, 3 months at least lost in sleep; I didn't feel like lying; I didn't feel like confessing either.**

**"The one I met on Oz was no one but myself, Kareem. No one but an unknown man hidden inside me, stronger and more interesting that the pencil pusher you know here; I don't know if you'd like him, but I miss being this man."**

**He gave me the same enquiring look and finally smiled to me, took my hand in his own and said, "I hope to God that you'll find what you've been restlessly looking for. Don't forget us; don't forget God; and don't do anything He would condemn."**

**Armed with this unusual blessing, I left Earth.**

**KELLER **

**They'd looked relieved to meet us; didn't ask any questions about the past but I had no doubt; they'd be checking every single detail about us, using the data from the EMC and I didn't expect them to like what they'd find, who would? But on the second day we was told we were about to meet a man from the company, the one who'd manage the administrative part of the mining station; he'd be there two days later and would I please wait for him?**

**Sure I would, I said, the whole thing was becoming a real thrill.**

**They took us to a hotel on this miserable merchant station –nothing but warehouses, storage places, general stores and busy men; barracks for the workers –and a hotel. Jesus fucking Christ, a hotel. Swimming pool, gym, huge bedrooms, animated walls –landscapes from Earth or elsewhere in front of me, so real I felt like diving in the deep blue sea or touching this cold white thing they called snow –Toby had spoken about snow, I remembered that. Jacuzzis and girls, yeah, I loved the place and O'Reily loved the casino; spent all the nights there; I spent all the nights fucking, something was telling me maybe I wouldn't have so many opportunities in a near future; all that at the firm's expense, too fucking good to be true.**

**On a Monday I crossed the hall with my friends and made my way to the meeting room, wary about the guy we'd find there; then froze on the doorstep, turned to O'Reily.**

**"Well, well," he chuckled, "look who's here!"**

**Beecher . Beecher in a dark suit, turning to me and smiling, eyes sparkling, looking so happy I couldn't help smiling too and he was walking up to us, holding out his hand, laughing.**

**"Geez, guys, I thought I'd never see you again," he said.**

**"Yeah," O'Reily said, "I'm sure you missed me like crazy, Beecher ."**

**When my turn came I was unable to say anything and Beecher 's smile narrowed, faltered, his eyes begging; I crushed his fingers between mine and muttered, "Hey, wasn't expecting you here."**

**He gave me a shy embarrassed smile and I thought he was going to throw himself at me; but he just nodded.**

**"Yes, it's a surprise; an unexpected opportunity, I guess. Glad to see you; you look great."**

**That's about all I remember from the meeting; I had to struggle to keep my eyes off him and I was near enough to touch him, I could've jumped him right there, given a chance; I counted every fucking minute until the moment I managed to see him alone.**

**"Let's go somewhere," I said between clenched teeth, shaking.**

**"My room."**

**And when we were there, I just closed my arms around him and kept him there, not daring to move, my lips on his skin, breathing air filled with him.**

**"Tell me I'm not having one of those dreams, Toby, tell me it's for real."**

**I was talking against the skin of his neck, my breath burning his skin and I felt a shiver run through him.**

**"How did you manage this?" I asked.**

**"It's a long story, but to make it short, I'd say that some god is watching upon us. I came here to recruit you; you, Chris Keller. I need you for the job, and the new director of the EMC agrees with me."**

**I backed off; things were going too fast.**

**"Wait, wait… What job are you talking about? Miner on this new station?"**

**He didn't answer, looked at me for a moment and retrieved a little box in a drawer, held it out to me.**

**"Open it, Chris, look inside, you're gonna like it."**

**Ah fuck, the rumour was true. What I was holding in my hand, warm and shining, sparkling red and gold and blue every time I moved my fingers was the purest ore I'd ever seen, something so alien, so out of any imagination that I had to close my hand around it, hide it to take my mind off it.**

**"Jesus, I thought it was a lie."**

**"Well it's not. So, what do you think?"**

**"About what?"**

**"Working there?"**

**I breathed deeply, on the edge of a deep gap and I knew if I stepped forward there would be no turning back, but Toby spoke again.**

**"Not as a miner," he said "but as a manager. It's what I'm looking for, what the company's looking for. They want a shared management, someone like you to run the whole stuff on a technical point of view."**

**I tried to wrap my mind around the news, and failed.**

**"Like me? Dammit, why me?"**

**"Because the others will trust you, your previous experience will make the difference; they'll respect you, obey you, you'll make the right decisions, take care of them, make the place sure, as sure as possible."**

**I snorted. "Take care of them? Since when does the company take care of its workers, exactly?"**

**"Since Case runs it. Listen, the place is too precious to them, the expect profits to reach unknown level, the stuff down there, it's just something nobody ever heard about, they won't take any risk; won't take the risk of another riot, of miners leaving, they'll care."**

**A new thought begins to crawl through my hazy mind.**

**"Wait, wait, wait… You said something about a shared management, which I guess means I'll have to share the control with someone else."**

**"Yeah."**

**"Fuck, I don't share."**

**"Yeah? The someone else is me."**

**Jesus fucking Christ I stared at him in sheer disbelief, noticed the cold blue look, something new, something hard and tough that wasn't here before and I was not sure I liked it. Not sure at all. I wasn't sure the real Beecher was facing me, the one I'd loved; maybe they'd cloned him. Fuck. I wasn't sure of anything anymore.**

**"And what about the riot on Oz? Don't they know about me?" I asked, wary.**

**"Case knows but he needs good miners and he thinks maybe you're strong enough to keep the place quiet."**

**I shook my head, and he went on.**

**"The deal's for 5 years, one full year to settle down, organize everything, we'll need that; after that it will be for real," he says, "5000 miners working up there. 5 years together, Chris, 1800 days together, working together." He pauses and takes a step forward, "and 1800 nights."**

**My mind was slowly clearing up. Running a station with Toby, yeah, that sounded fine. I opened my hand again, glanced at the ore warming my palm.**

**"Nice little baby. Gonna be the hell of a job to keep miners from stealing it."**

**"Your job, Keller. Mine will be the administrative boring bullshit."**

**I put the nugget back into the box and reach out for Toby, grabbed his jacket, pulled him to me.**

**"Why me, Toby? Why?"**

**BEECHER **

**"Why me?"**

**All of a sudden I heard something in Chris' voice I only half expected and I slammed back down my romantic expectations. Insecurities, wariness. I was talking to a guy who'd changed identity four times, maybe more, always had someone watching his back, expected to be arrested any day if he wasn't careful enough and now I was facing him, the memory of an old love he thought he'd lost, and what was he supposed to believe?**

**And what was I supposed to say?**

**The truth. I told him about what had happened in Alvah Case's office, and how I'd spotted his name and picked him up as the best one for the job, hoping too it would give me an opportunity to see him again, because, "you owe me big time, Keller."**

**He glared at me, puzzled.**

**"Owe you? Why did I believe maybe it was the whole other way round?"**

**I took my chance them, leaned against him, rubbing my cheek against his jaw.**

**"There will be a big greenhouse on Oz2," I whisper.**

**"Oz2?"**

**"Yeah, that's the name we'll give to the place."**

**He didn't move, didn't loosen his grip on me, but I felt something new, heard something new in his voice.**

**"A greenhouse, huh? You'll never leave it alone, will you?"**

**"I don't think so. You were the one who promised, now that I found you, and the right place, don't expect me to let go so easily, Chris."**

**"Yeah I don't expect that. Oz2. Sounds a bit threatening, huh? What does the place look like?"**

**"It's a huge tin can, 5 times bigger than Oz, with two bars, two restaurants, theatres."**

**"Virtual girls?"**

**"Real girls," I say, hoping he didn't mean it.**

**"Real you will be enough."**

**His hands were on me now, stripping me, pulling me to the bed, pushing me down, falling on top of me, kissing me, stroking me roughly, making sure I was real I guess and I was doing the same; well maybe it wasn't quite the romantic stuff books usually describe, rather some kind of rough coupling, his body rubbing against mine, our lips hungry, warm and dry, tongues battling, hands snaking everywhere and finally a husky whisper asking "What do you want? I'll do what you want?" and I said "fuck me, just fuck me please."**

**He gave me a sheepish smile. "I don't think I can last very long, Toby, It's been too long."**

**Hey I'm from Earth and I know a great deal about sex, at least, so I grabbed his shoulders, stilled him, shifted position and pinned him to the bed.**

**"Let me take the edge off, then, let me do that."**

**He didn't answer, just nodded, an arm covering his eyes and I felt his body shiver from head to toes when I took his cock in my mouth, just the tip, sucking it, then deeper, and deeper, and deeper still, revelling in his taste until he was buried in my throat and I began to play with him, but he'd been right, he couldn't hold back and he came fast and hard in my mouth, half-choking me, then pulling me up to him, wrapping me in his arms, growling, "taking the edge off, huh, Beecher? You trained a lot, didn't you? Who did you suck on Earth?"**

**"You, in my dreams," I answered, pushing away the memories of other guys I'd been fucking on a regular basis, trying to forget him, some who looked like him, some completely different, depended on my mood, but now there would be no one else but him, even Gen that I loved tenderly was nothing more than a fading memory.**

**"Yeah? Then I'm gonna show you it was worth it, Beecher ."**

**And he was hard again, ready again, parting my thighs with his knees, his mouth ravaging my neck, my mouth, my body, his fingers slick inside me as I bucked wildly, trying to keep silent, trying to open up for him, taking his cock inside, deep, and hard. He stopped moving, kneeling between my thighs and grabbed my hips, pulled me closer, leaned forward, increasing the pressure, smothering my voice with his mouth, barely moving, his belly rubbing against my cock, torturing me, sending me to heaven, then thrusting, putting all his weight in every thrust, his cock grazing against my prostate and I was moaning, begging, sobbing…**

**"Yeah, baby, you earned it," he whispered, locking his fingers around my cock and stroking, breathing in my mouth until I came, shattered and only half-conscious, Chris' hard body crushing mine; but I didn't complain, I'd been dreaming about that so often, I'd closed my eyes under other men's bodies, pretending they were him; now that it was for real, I could endure anything, even stop breathing, crushed under his weight, but he rolled on his side and looked at me, frowning.**

**"I thought I'd forgotten you more or less," he said "there are been a lot of others, guys, girls, and I thought I'd managed to make you a memory, a sweet one; but now…" he shook his head and leaned to kiss me again. "I don't think anyone else ever mattered."**

**And I could do with this particular declaration of love, enjoy this minute of absolute delight until he rose and got dressed. Ten minutes later we were sitting face to face in the bar of the hotel; O'Reily and the others seemed to have vanished.**

**"So, what does it look like?"**

**"The planet looks like hell, a frozen hell. I don't think anyone can stay down for more than a week, but you'll tell me. The station's great."**

**He looked at me and sighed. "I'm not sure I can take such a job, Toby, I'm a miner; I like to go down; running such a place it's a completely different matter."**

**"You can do it. We can do it together. You know the job, there will be other people to help us."**

**I wanted it so bad, I wanted an excuse to leave my life behind me and start something new, it was like an old adolescent craving for adventurous love, risky life, new sensations to keep the boredom at bay, take my mind off my usual obsessions. I couldn't leave on my own will, two many bounds still tied me to my world, I had to find a legitimate excuse to go away, something Gen, my kids and my family would be able to accept and believe; tell them "see, I'm so sorry, I'll miss you like hell, but I have to go, the job's an opportunities I won't find again, it means a lot of money and power and the best for the kids and you…"**

**He said "yes" in a husky voice, it was like a wedding; a week later I boarded the shuttle back to Earth and he left for the new station, I'd join him later with Case; I needed time for my good-byes.**

**KELLER **

**Yeah, it loved it. When I first set foot on Oz2, I felt home. The place looked nearly empty, just engineers and experts busy making everything perfect. I visited everything once, twice, a dozen times, memorized every single place, from the huge greenhouse (hey, I had ulterior motives, right?) to the smallest closet (could be nice there too), learned the plan of the 8 levels, the gyms, the restaurants, the bars, the aisle where hustlers would live; the hospital, the miners' rooms, everything. I chose my room and Beecher's, next to mine, two offices, one for him, one for me –I'd never be able to work with him in the same room; and fuck, just having an office was something so unexpected, so strange… I sat in the leather chair, rested my hands on the polished surface, turned the computer on, and laughed.**

**My first trip outside was for the mine; they had just began digging, a few yards of the future gallery; I listened to the engineers telling me everything I needed to know, safety and emergency device, four elevators in every pit and stairs, steel braced ceilings, automatic evacuation systems.**

**Then I saw the ore and it was an epiphany; same feeling as being in the cathedral on Mars3, bathed in the coloured sun that poured through the stained glass windows, same blow inside my chest, tears in my eyes; it was just as miraculous as I'd dreamed and I spent a long time there watching, until the guy who'd accompanied me took my arms and dragged me back. Jesus, I couldn’t believe such a place existed; and I wondered how the miners would react, how long it would take them to be addicted to the plain sight of it; I wondered, too, how many foremen I'd need to manage them; I searched in my memory for names; O'Reily, Alvarez maybe, Barlog for sure and all the guys from Oz who had followed me at the time.**

**While I was waiting for Beecher, I read thousands of pages, technical, geological reports; I had never read that much, I'd never realized I could read that much; never thought I had a brain, actually and I called Sister Pete to tell her about this new experience; she laughed and told me, "looks like you found what you were looking for, after all!"**

**And I couldn't agree more.**

**Then Toby arrived, and Case, and we were caught in a whirlpool of work and meetings; Toby and I took the two hours trip through starlit darkness down to the frozen surface of the planet –we named it Treasure, it seemed appropriate; he stood by the rails and looked around, stunned.**

**"Holy fuck, it's… it's unbelievable."**

**And just looking at his wonderstruck face behind the glass of the helmet made me want to kiss him.**

**After Case's departure, I took Toby to the greenhouse to honour my promise. The place looked a lot like some park with trees, flowers, sandy paths, and even a pond where ducks would be be swimming, later; a nice place to take a walk, rest on benches under an artificial sky, swim in a little pool, all the stuff that you'd find on a real planet. Another part was private, the engineers kept it locked for real cultivation and rearing, part of the things the station needed.**

**At the time, the place was empty. It had been 6 years; we wanted to make it something unforgettable, a memory we could cherish; we locked the accesses, lay under the biggest tree we could find and made love, slow, conscious, intoxicating, delirious love, sucking, fucking, stroking, moaning until we couldn't take anymore, rested, dozed off, shifted places and did it all over again.**

**Fuck. It was paradise.**

**Then time began to go by; days and weeks and months working, loving each other, dealing with each other.**

**I was happy.**

**BEECHER **

**Two years had gone by quickly like sand between my fingers.**

**It was late in the morning, and the kind of moment when you realize that the honeymoon's over; Chris was yelling at me; pointing a vengeful finger in my direction, his face hard with anger.**

**"No way! I won't allow you to reopen a second pit under the actual circumstances; a man fucking died there, the pit will stay closed until we have further information, and a better protection against such accidents; we're not talking about money there, we're talking about human lives!"**

**"We're talking about money too, and employment! What do you intend to do with the miners who worked there? Send them back home? How can you be sure it wasn't just some kind of carelessness, or he was just too stupid…"**

**I didn't finish my sentence; Chris slammed his fist on the desk, yelling.**

**"Stupid? Why, because he was only a miner, some liability you can easily replace? You fucking bastard, you're like the others, ready to sacrifice our lives for the company."**

**I tried to keep cool, breathed deeply, I knew fighting Chris Keller on his own ground was useless.**

**"Chris, it's not that simple… How are you going to tell the company that you decided to close the pit because yesterday a drunken miner fell from a balcony, and that you, alone, suspect some technical problem?"**

**He glared at me, walked up to the door.**

**"How will you tell the guys that you decided to reopen the mine despite the fact that yesterday one of them died? How are you so sure he was drunk? Is it the experience talking?"**

**He slammed the door behind him and I stayed alone in the room, shaking with rage.**

**Working here was… hell. Working with Chris Keller was … it was… I grabbed the leather chair and threw it across the room, watching it bounce again the wall, sure that the noise had been audible in the whole level, and yelled, because I was tired, fed up, desperate, locked inside this place just like inside a prison and because I fucking wanted to go HOME! NOW! I wanted to actually *see* something and be able to close a door and walk outside, really outside, fuck, I wanted to work with someone who wasn't a fucking stubborn psycho of a miner, systematically on their side, fighting me as if I was an enemy, because I refused to spend all the money in useless safety measures, because some of the guys who worked here worked here for the money and didn't care much for their own life and the others; because some of them stole the ore, skipped work, didn't follow safety rules and because, because…**

**I was going nuts.**

**I sat on the desk, trying to calm down, knowing that this new fight had nothing to do with the accident of the day before. We were simply tired of each other's presence. I wasn’t home here, had never been, would never be. But Chris was. He never stopped working, day and night, talking to everyone he met, checking everything, having a drink in the bar with the miners, he was able to call most of them by their names and they loved him, respected him, feared him. I was the other man, the one the miners didn't like much, the one who ranted against productivity that could've been higher and expenses that should've been lower.**

**I was tired, I missed my kids. And my friends. And my world. And sometimes Chris Keller wasn't enough to make me accept the loss.**

**I don't know how long I spent there, barely breathing, before the door opened again.**

**"Okay, I'm sorry."**

**"Get the fuck out, leave me alone."**

**"No, listen, I'm really sorry; you're right, he was drunk."**

**Fingers ruffled my hair, shaking fingers –he'd been as angry as I'd been, he still was.**

**"I just wanted one day to go down and make sure everything's secure down there."**

**"Then why don't you just do it? You don't give a damn about my opinion anyway."**

**He sighed and let go of me.**

**"OK. See you later, then?"**

**He was at the door when I said it.**

**"Chris, I want to leave. I want to go home."**

**He stopped, his hand on the handle and nodded wordlessly. Then he walked out and closed the door very softly, and I don't know why it sounded like the noise of a heart breaking.**

**I made the call an hour later, asked for the company to send someone to replace me –Geez I felt like a deserter- and went to bed in my own room, alone. No one came to wake me up in the middle of the night, I heard Chris' laughter next door and guessed that he wasn't alone; he never was, how could I have thought he'd be satisfied with me? Who was I? A half-attractive man from Earth, lost too far from home, whiny and easily scared, ranting and grumbling, taking unpopular measures? Fuck, I was a loser. I woke up early, gave a look at the big white sphere we'd named "Treasure" and sighed. Then I stopped by Chris' door and listened, but there was nothing to be heard so I went to my office, the company had sent me a message, three more months and a new administrator would take my place, officially for the next six months, time for me to rest; but the truth was that I wasn't sure I would ever come back.**

**In the beginning Chris had been the one scared to be unable to do the job, and I'd been the enthusiastic one; happy to visit and baptize in our own hot way every room and closet of our personal new Oz, still half empty; no miners were working there, the job for the 12 first months had been to make the place ready and safe for them –as safe as it could be. But in the end, Chris was the one made for the job, and I was the one who freaked out, and it made me feel ashamed and weak and guilty. Chris had spent a lot of time deep down in the mine, even when he didn't need to; he used to say that his place was there, that the miners could only trust someone who was able to live like there. I'd gone with him twice but it was just not the right place for me. And now I was leaving.**

**"Hey, Beecher , you're a quiter?"**

**O'Reily's voice startled me.**

**"News travel fast."**

**"Not too hard to guess, Keller drunk himself to death last night, told me you were leaving. You look a bit worn out, you made the right decision, Beecher, but the guys up here, they won't be too happy about it; they got used to you, they rather like you; someone else… You'd better be back soon."**

**I turned to him; he wasn't quite a friend but almost; he had no ethic, no illusions and he was brutal; but he managed tirelessly two teams of miners and he was a good boss. He was home here too.**

**"I'm not sure I'll come back," I said.**

**"Of course you will. As soon as you've set foot on beautiful Earth you'll miss us. Miss Oz. Miss Keller. Take vacations, kiss your kids, and then come back; we need you here."**

**He was gone before I had any time to answer; I gave a look at my screen; fuck it was early, too early to work, after all; maybe I could use a break.**

**So I went back to Keller's room and used my key, entered the dark place; it smelled of sweat and booze, I heard a growl.**

**"Get out. I'm not in the mood."**

**"Not in the mood for what?"**

**"Not in the mood for you, Beecher."**

**I didn't care, came closer, it was hot and heavy with the smell of his body, the smell of his come; but he was alone now; whoever he had come back with, he or she was gone; no one but I spends a whole night with Keller, I suppose it's something I should be proud of.**

**"When d'ya leave?"**

**"Three months from now."**

**"Fuck. That's a lot of work to finish before you leave. I hope you don't expect me to explain the job to your substitute; and he'd better be good; there are things I stand from you I won't stand from anyone else."**

**I snorted; I saw him move, turn his back to me.**

**"I'm sure they'll warn him about the psycho who runs this place; that you will maybe fuck him as a welcome and be on his back every single hour of the day, check all his decisions, discuss them to death as well, get drunk sometimes and go to bed with someone different every fucking night."**

**I hadn't expected to say that, to be that bitter, but that was the truth.**

**"I don't know why you loved me in the first place," he said coldly, "I'm so not lovable… And I don't understand why you were so eager to come work here with me, this is so not your place. Happy you realize it at last."**

**Ah Ok so he was in the mood for a fight; well I wasn't.**

**"It's not against you, Chris, it's not even about you."**

**"Yeah? It fucking sounds like it is, you know."**

**He was angry and hurt. I was hurt and angry, we made a sweet pair.**

**"You won't come back," he said in the soft cutting voice he had when the emotion got out of control.**

**"I don't know."**

**"Don't. We have nothing in common, it can't work. Your place is on earth with men of your kind."**

**Men of my kind… Men Chris Keller despises. Like he probably despises me for being weak and leaving.**

**"I don't know, we did a fine job here, Chris. It's just… It's just the place getting on my nerves; the job's tough; and I worry a lot for you and the guys; I know you're mad about one of them being hurt; I do all I can about the money, but…"**

**A hand landed on my mouth, shutting me up.**

**"OK, Beecher , if you want to spend a moment here, you just lie on the bed and fucking shut up, OK?"**

**KELLER **

**I reeked of sweat, booze and come but when I asked him to lie down with him he obeyed and I spooned my body around his.**

**"Overdressed, Beecher ," I told him and I helped him out of his clothes until he was stark naked under my fingers. Then I just held him there.**

**I should've told him that I knew it was not only about me, I knew he did all he could, I knew I was unfair and hard on him, I knew he loved me, and God help me, I loved him too, I loved him too much for my own good, too much for his own good. But I didn't tell him that, I couldn't, no one ever taught me to speak those words of love and comfort; so I buried my face into his neck and took a deep breath.**

**"Mmmm. You smell good," I said.**

**Pathetic attempt at tenderness, but he understood; understood the soft kisses on his skin and my hands on his body everywhere I managed to reach, landing on his soft cock. I would've fucked him but I was too tired, my head hurt like hell, and a glance at the clock told me it was barely dawn; he hadn't slept much.**

**"You should get some rest," I told him, "we have a long day ahead."**

**"May I stay here?"**

**Fuck, he was asking me for permission, I hated that, I just held him tighter, that bed was his bed too, didn't he know it yet?**

**"Just dare try moving, Beecher, and I swear I'm gonna tie you to the bed," I growled in his ear, feeling him relax, listening to his sigh, hearing his breathing slow down; and closed my eyes.**

**We fell asleep in the rumpled stained sheets where I'd fucked one of the girls who live here some months a year, entertaining the guys with her charms and her nice smiles and her body, allow them to remember that they are still men –a fucking improvement over the virtual girls we had on Oz1. Well Beecher didn't agree on that, of course.**

**When we woke up, I had my arms locked around him so tight my muscles ached, and I was breathing in his hair; we kissed and stretched against each other, kissed again and it was time to get up.**

**"I'm not enough for you," he told me later as we were having breakfast together in my room, both reading the report of the last 24 hours, a reassuringly normal and cheering report, no one hurt, high productivity rates, a lot of money made, no fights, nothing bad.**

**"I never asked you to be true."**

**"Right," he snorted, "as soon as I'm on Earth I'm gonna fuck Saïd like crazy."**

**Ah, that stung. Toby, don't play this game with me, don't, please, I'm vulnerable here.**

**"Anyone but Saïd, please," I said. Don't do that, it's hard enough, having to let you go, knowing that maybe, probably, you won't come back, don't twist the knife.**

**"And remember, you said that it had nothing to do with me, so, what is all this shit about being jealous and all?"**

**"I don't know."**

**"You know they don't mean dick, don't you?"**

**"I suppose they don't, but it still hurts."**

**So I knew what I had to do.**

**We had a very long day. I went down, enjoying the trip to Treasure, its glistening ice-blue ground, nothing but ice, mountains, no trees, nothing, and the dark mouth of the pits where the shuttle landed. It took me half an hour to put on my equipment and I took the trip down; modern elevators, but, I realized, the voice announcing the successive levels was the same as the day of the accident on A4, I could remember the tone, the slight accent. I reached the deepest level without any incident, and walked straight where the guy had fallen. The rail had been repaired, I leaned against it carefully, bent over the huge gap where the future galleries would be, ice and stone mixed with ore, and I shut my lamp down to enjoy the soft glittering of the precious stuff generously spread there; the ore was a drug, some miners pretended they couldn't live without it; I believed them, I remembered the primitive pleasure I took digging into those shining depths.**

**But that time was over. Running the place was fine, just was I needed, power just as addictive as ore; and Toby more than anything else. If he was never to come back… I bent over the emptiness, feeling sick and dizzy; if Toby was never to come back it would be easy to lean forward just a bit more until my heavy boots left the ground, the gravity was enough to drag me down and I'd crush against the stones below; Beecher would cry over me forever. I played with the idea for a moment and straightened up, checking around, saw Ronnie Barlog come to me, tell me it was OK, we could reopen.**

**The afternoon meeting with the foremen, Beecher and part of the technical staff went just fine; Beecher was happy about my decision, I was happy to see him happy. Two hours later the first shifts went down and the work could begin again. We worked on logistic and boring stuff like that the whole afternoon.**

**Later I took Beecher to the greenhouse and made love to him in the pool where he loved to swim, sweet Jesus, he must've been a fish in a previous life, because he moved in the water like an aquatic animal. Most of the miners, and I, had cautious relations with water, even in a swimming pool, even a small one like that one; there's nothing like that on Mars3 and water, well… Being drowned haunts every miner's nightmares. But for Beecher, I was ready to overcome this too and take him there, wet and cool, but burning inside, fighting to stay out of the water and begging, demanding, yelling me to go on, go on and finish it, but it was about making love so I was determined to take my time, prove him I was the only one, the real one, and that he was the same to me, make him believe that there was still something possible, that love hadn't faded away, that it was still alive.**

**And I think we agreed on that.**

** BEECHER  **

**I was sitting in my office. My things were packed and I was waiting for the shuttle to come and take me home. Home. This place would never be that to me, not even with Chris. See, I'd entertained the idea for a long time, probably the whole first year there, that where your heart was, your home was too. But it was a lie; love couldn't blossom in such a place between men like us; it was like trying to merge fire and water; one of us had to give way; working with him was like being a rock constantly washed by a relentless tempest –the rocks vanishes and becomes sand; I had to fly away before Chris' constant grip exhausted me to death or madness.**

**I wished I was gone already, I wished I was home hugging my kids, I wanted be able to go to the movie with old friends of mine I hadn't seen for three years now and kiss Gen even if she was not my wife anymore, smell her perfume which was the perfume of my world, play with my children, talk with Saïd, escape the smell of this place, escape the darkness of hopeless and infinite open space, stars shining, strange silver aura of the planet below; see a blue sky see animals see the ocean the beaches where I used to play when I was a kid with my brother see him and his kids see…**

**"Hey," Chris' voice startled me, he was standing on the doorstep, tight smile, "all ready to go?"**

**I nodded. Yeah, all ready to run away from you.**

**"They say the shuttle will be here in four hours, wanna have a bit of a talk meanwhile? I don't know, go somewhere?"**

**Go somewhere. I couldn't help snorting, "go somewhere" in Keller's mouth usually meant finding a nice unexplored place in our giant tin can and fuck like crazy, but today something in his voice told me it wasn't about it.**

**"It's OK, we can talk here!"**

**He stepped in, sat in front of me and gave me a long assessing look.**

**"Listen, I've been thinking about all this, Toby. You've been very withdrawn for some time lately, very subdued," he says cautiously.**

**"Do you mean inefficient?"**

**"Please don't begin fighting me!"**

**A hint of anger in his voice…**

**"I know how much you want to go home, I know what Earth means to you, I know whatever I can do, this place is a prison to you, I know the job doesn't get at you the way it gets at me, mesmerizes me, you don't feel for the men here what I feel for them. Right?"**

**I nodded.**

**"Fine, then listen, when you're home," he said, and I felt a shiver of anticipation run through me, "think about it, think it over. The company could send someone else to manage the place with me. Or… I could manage it alone."**

**"What? What the fuck are you talking about? You believe I won't come back?"**

**I wanted to stay cool but my voice was rising helplessly.**

**"No, I didn't say that, maybe now you're sure you'll come back but who can say what will happen when you're home, who you'll meet, what you'll feel, if you'll find the strength to leave again, no one knows what can happen, maybe you'll change your mind."**

**I rose and went to the window, I hadn't lost that stupid habit yet. Chris never did that; he never gave a look outside, and none of the miners did. Why look outside? There was nothing there.**

**He was right, and it hurt to realize that he saw through me so easily. I'd been thinking about it in the heart of the night, curled up in his arms, allowing my mind to fly away to places I'd never really left, which were solely mine, fighting the temptation of leaving and never come back.**

**"A greenhouse isn't quite the same thing as a garden on Earth."**

**"Yeah," I said, my throat tight and I heard him rise and sigh behind me.**

**"I have to go, talk to the guys from the maintenance."**

**"OK," and I turned to him, "but you know, if I could, I'd take you home with me."**

**"We can't do that, Beecher , we both know it. Besides, this place you call home ain't mine. Just promise me,"**

**"Anything."**

**"Don't listen to Saïd."**

**I couldn't help laughing; he was so unbelievably rancorous, this man of mine.**

**"I won't."**

**"Fine," he still said, "and if they have to look for someone to replace you, I'd rather have a girl, you know, big tits, pussy…"**

**He was gone before I could react and I heard his laugh vanish as he left.**

**Before I boarded the shuttle, he pulled me into a corner, hugged me tight and kisses me in the particular Keller way, ownership and all, his arms crushing me.**

**"Please, don't forget me."**

**"I'll be thinking about you every fucking second, you know that."**

**"And come back, you're the only one I care for."**

**"I know."**

**"I'm not that crazy about tits."**

**"I'd gathered that much, Keller."**

**"Think of all I'll do to you when you're back."**

**"It's just 6 months and after that I'm all yours."**

**The vice around my body loosened a little.**

**"OK. Ok, so go, now, go."**

**He turned away and walked out without a backward glance and I stayed here, stupid, until O'Reilly's voice called me from inside the shuttle.**

**"Hey, Beecher , are you coming, yes or no? We're waiting."**

**So I just stepped inside and left.**

** KELLER  **

**He came back. It took much more than 6 months but he came back. From the first message I received I guessed he wouldn't; the second conversation we had made me sure about it; and week after week the intuition became a certainty; I listened to him talk about his friends, the bitches he met, and probably fucked, all the things he loved to do and it was like the distance between us was stretching endlessly. After 3 months, I asked him if he'd come back, his answer was vague; he didn't want to answer, I knew that.**

**Then I called the company, said I wanted to talk to Alvah Case and asked him what kinf of agreement he had with Beecher; I learned that Beecher had signed for 5 years and I told him he was thinking about leaving; but none of the men who'd come on Oz2 to take up the job had been up to it, they were dumb and by-the-book-Glynn-wannabe, and fuck, I wasn't going to make it easy for them. All right, I terrified them; space terrified them, miners terrified them, none of them had resisted Oz2 more than a month. I wanted Beecher to fulfil his commitment until the end; 5 years wouldn't be too much to make me able to manage the place by myself if I had to. Case listened to me, and said he'd think about it, convince Beecher that his presence on Oz2 was necessary; threaten him to sue him for breaking up his contract –well this was my idea, I knew Toby, he wouldn't take such a risk.**

**The negotiation lasted for days but two weeks later, while Beecher was sunbathing in some fancy place with his kids, and, I suspected, a woman, Case sent me a message: Beecher would be on his way back less than a week later. I'd won.**

**Almost.**

**The day he was due on Oz2, I spent hours pacing the hall, waiting for him, unable to care about anything else. He stormed out of the shuttle, livid and walked up to me.**

**"You fucking bastard, I'm gonna kill you!"**

**I gave him a sweet smile.**

**"Why? You signed for five years, Toby. What would I do without you?"**

**He looked at me, cold blue eyes.**

**"Whatever there was between us, it's over," he said before leaving.**

**"You didn't intend to come back, did you?" I shouted, "you prick, you missed your cosy little world too much, didn't you? How were the bitches? Did you enjoy them?"**

**He didn't even turn back, I let him leave.**

**The first weeks were awkward; Beecher barely talked to me, avoided me, didn't look me in the eyes and spent a lot of time locked in his room. The meetings with the staff went off in a gloomy mood, Toby stubbornly staring at his screen or his papers, writing on a legal pad, looking exceedingly bored and one day O'Reily glanced at me, exasperated.**

**"How long is this going to last? Because I tell you, K'boy, we're not gonna take that much longer."**

**"Yeah," Alvarez said, "why don't you teach the bitch his lesson one for all?"**

**I glared at Alvarez and he backed up; no one calls Toby a bitch in my face.**

**"He'll be fine, leave him some time, he left his kids behind, and his world, just for us, buddies. Be patient."**

**I was pretty confident; a man can't spend all his time working and there weren't so many distractions here; a movie every week, not the one an educated lawyer from Earth would enjoy, the library wasn't the best in the universe; that left the swimming pool, the greenhouse. And me.**

**And Beecher , he had that thing about sex, he loved it, and he loved it with *me* more than with anyone else. I wasn't insensitive enough or stupid enough to make him ask for it, I didn't want to humiliate him or hurt him; I was the one who begged in the end, shameless, in the middle of the night; threatening to sleep on his doorstep if he didn't let me him, pounding on his door and calling his fucking name like a cat in rut, and I didn't give a damn if the whole station and its 5000 miners heard me.**

**After a while he gave up, opened the door and I took him in my arms, hugged him, cradled him, felt him stiffen and resist.**

**"Hey, Mr Beecher, I'm glad you're back, I missed you like hell, I would've left for Earth in the end just to see you again. I-love-you-Toby, I do; please, forgive me. Take me back."**

**He sighed. "Yeah, you love me, but not enough to let me go when you know I'm happier on Earth than here."**

**"Were you happier without me?" I asked.**

**"I was happier on Earth."**

**"Let me make you happy here," I whispered in the silky mass of his hair "give me a chance, I can make you happier than all the fucks on Earth; I know I'm not easy to deal with, I know you don't like the place, but I'm not asking you to stay forever; just three more years."**

**"Three more years in hell."**

**"Three more years with me. And you can go back on Earth then."**

**He snorted but didn't try to push me away as I buried my fingers in his hair.**

**"Yeah, and when you miss me too much, you'll pull on the leash and I'll be back; that's how it works, isn't it?"**

**"Toby I can't live without you; I'd rather die."**

**"I know you, you wouldn't do that."**

**I lifted his chin, forced him to look into my eyes, deep enough to see the despair I'd been feeling during all those months; deep enough to shake his certitudes, deep enough to let my soul show.**

**"Dammit," he said, "you're crazy."**

**"Yeah, and all yours. You're enough, Toby, there's no one else."**

**I kissed him softly on the mouth, waiting for his lips to part and welcome me; I was shivering with need, shivering with anguish, and relief because finally he tangled his hands behind my neck and pulled me to him to kiss me deep and deeper still, his tongue exploring my mouth, stealing my breath and my mind and my heart and pushed me onto the bed, stripped me and began kissing me everywhere, his wet lips trailing on my cock, his mouth eating me alive, his strong hands holding me still, pinning me to the bed..**

**"Do you want to fuck me?" I asked against his open mouth.**

**"No, not tonight; what I want is you fucking me; I've been missing that."**

**Geez, it had taken 4 weeks before he gave up, four weeks of agony thinking that maybe he'd never take me back and now that he did, I wasn't sure I was up to it.**

**But hey, I was Chris Keller, I had a reputation here, I wasn't gonna whine, tell him I'd rather just hold him; he wanted to be fucked, so I fucked him, lost myself deep inside him, let the frustration of the past year, the past weeks guide my dick, shut my brain down, until he begged for more, please, more, but slow down, it hurts; I breathed deeply and forced myself to calm down, to pick a gentler rhythm, brushed against his prostate, stroke his nipples and his belly and his cock with my miner's callous hands, and when he came, spurting come all over me, before I let go too, I asked him to say it, say it loud.**

**"I missed you Chris; I did."**

**It didn't take anything more; I came, rubbing my scratching jaw against his belly, purring, roaring.**

**He was back, he was mine.**

**BEECHER **

**He's down in the mine checking the digging of new galleries. Soon he'll be too old for that; the place is dangerous, sometimes I'm afraid an accident happens; I worry for him. I worry when I'm on Oz, and when I'm on Earth. The time I spend here we fight like always and fuck like never; when I'm far from Oz, I recover from him; enjoy my kids, my friends and some lovers I've got down there; then I come back and his love swallows me, floods me, asphyxiates me, overwhelms me.**

**Last year Saïd was murdered, they didn't find the killer; since my divorce with Gen, Saïd and my children were the main reasons why I still spent some time on Earth; now that he's dead, things don't look the same down there. Six months ago Sister Pete Marie died too, I think Chris cried that day, he was very subdued for a whole week and I know that he still prays for her. I wonder if he prays for me too.**

**Gen has married again, my children came to Oz once, they looked delighted by the place and the people; Gary and Holly even took the trip down to the mine, and Gary listened to Chris' stories for hours, and fuck, so did I.**

**I'm waiting for him to come back from the pit; I'm standing in the hall of the upper level, talking with one of those young guys from Earth, an educated bold guy who wanted to live something else, give the mine a try, rub elbows with another world, prove himself he was a real man; when he came there, Chris wanted to send him back but I insisted, gave the boy a try and even Chris agrees on that, now Adam's a good miner; what he doesn't tell me about what happened to him on Earth I don't wanna know, here on Oz such things don't matter much; he's funny, he's one of those I can easily talk with, we both come from the good old world; we have more in common that I have with Keller –except the love.**

**Here he comes, surrounded by miners, probably taking wagers about the next match of this game they play here–two men, a ball and two goals; every player trying to plant (?) the ball in the opposite goal, every player trying to stop the other –no rules, a real free for all, basic, violent, fascinating; I bet sometimes, and lose; which delights Chris –Hey, I'm just the guy from Earth here, not supposed to understand anything to their own kind of civilisation, or the language they talk when they're together, and that I don't still quite handle.**

**Chris spots me, smiles and walks up the stairs –my young companion has vanished.**

**"Hey, Beecher , waiting for me?"**

**"Yeah, have to talk to you."**

**"Not now, we got a meeting in ten minutes; I have to…"**

**"What I have to say won't take that long," I whisper and I see his eyes roam over my face hungrily, over my lips, his hands brushing against my crotch.**

**"Yeah," he says "let's go", and propels me along the corridor to an empty closet, pushes me against the wall and leans forward, steps forward, crushing me between the wall and my body but I fight him and it's my time to press him against the metallic wall…**

**"Come on, come on, Toby, kiss me."**

**It's my favourite moment, when our lips meet, when my heart jumps inside my chest and my cock hardens painfully, when we clutch to one another like drowning men, losing breath, yanking down each other's pant and I don't want to take my lips off his so I rub my body against his like an animal until he seizes my hips and drags me closer, rubs harder, our cocks already slick and when I throw my head back and bite my lips to stifle my cry he digs his teeth into my throat and we come, locked in each other's embrace; and it's good; I can't believe how good it is.**

**It's worth staying, maybe it's not happiness, but it's very close to it.**

**It helps me forgetting the rumours about the EMC, people whispering that the board of directors was infiltrated by businessmen from Mars3, that they're the major shareholders now, and that the EMC doesn't belong to Earth anymore; Case was fired and some guys here pretend that soon we will be our own bosses, that the company will be dismantled and every station become an independent firm. I don't know if I can trust them; I'm not sure those news make me happy; my kids tell me that Earth is losing the long-haul battle; that our world is slowly drowning into a decadent lethargy, that power doesn't belong to the people from the old world anymore and that Mars3 and other new worlds are about to found a new alliance, an empire. So I guess the rumours are true and suddenly I don't know where I belong anymore.**

**These news overexcite the miners, they distress me. I bury myself deeper in Chris' love, in his arms, hug him tighter, melt with him to keep the fear at bay and he kisses me.**

**"We're safe here, Toby; soon there will be no more EMC, no more boss to give us orders. And later when we're old we'll find a nice place to live together, the kind of place you like."**

**He kisses me. "It's not the end, Toby, only the beginning and soon, Oz2 will belong to us."**

**And in his eyes I see Schillinger's old dream come true and I shiver. Then I close my eyes and forget about it.**

**Because in the end, love is the only thing worth living for.**

 

**FINI!**


End file.
